Memories
by Jellicle
Summary: Chris' 23rd birthday is near. All the secrets about the past and what his nightmares mean are close to be revealed. EPILOGUE FINALY UP ON AUGUST 14TH. PLS, R & R. And THANK YOU for reading this fic.
1. Default Chapter

Title: Memories

Rating: Paige-13, just to be on the safe site.

Summary: Futurefic. Chris 23rd birthday is coming. And with that, memories that he didn't know he had came back to hunt him.

A/N: This is an idea I had and I don't know how long it'll take to develop since I'm working on two other fics and three transcripts, all at the same time. Despite the fact that I work full-time. But I hope this one is gonna be short. Well, at least this chapter is short. But the other (s?) is (are?) gonna be longer. Well, I'll try. And just one more thing: This one is un-betaed. So all mistakes are mine. Just keep in mind that English is not my native language.

Disclaimers: Yep, they don't belong to me. Although I'd really love to own Chris. Or Drew. Whatever. Just kidding. Sorta. By now I just write for fun, so please, don't sue me.

Oh! This one is dedicated to us all, Chris-aholics!

Feedback: Please! I'd really appreciate.

Now, back on business.

Chapter 1:

Chris woke again with an odd sensation. He had once again had nightmares. In fact, it had been happening a lot lately.

The young Halliwell couldn't say for sure when the nightmares begun. All he knew was that in the beginning he couldn't remember anything, just the odd sensation. Sometimes, he thought, it wasn't even nightmares, since he woke up with a feeling of comfort and even happiness. But lately these good sensations disappeared from his dreams. Sometimes he woke up calling his mother's name. One day she actually heard and stayed by his side until he felt sleeping again.

Chris was staring absently minded at the ceiling. He knew his parents were worried about him. He could sense them pretty well. But strangely enough they didn't ask Wyatt to talk to him as they usually do when they think there's a problem with him and he doesn't open up. But they called his aunts. And they locked themselves in the attic. Chris knew the rule. If they were locked there, none of the kids were allowed to get in there, unless they were called.

The brown hair boy covered his head with one pillow trying to come back to sleep. There was less than a month until his 23rd birthday and he was expecting something big for the day. His family had remarked that it was a special birthday to him, even though he didn't know why. It wasn't for Wyatt. After trying to ease him mind for a little more, Chris finally found his way back to dreamland, and then another dream begun.

__

Chris is hiding behind an old sofa in the attic. By his side there's a younger version of his Aunt Paige, while the younger version of his Aunt Phoebe is in the middle of the room vanquishing a demon by herself. Strangely enough, she was using powers that she doesn't have. Demonic powers.

Chris feels his heart beating fast even in the dream. He is now in a different scenario. He feels rage running through his veins. He's in some kind of cave and he's hitting someone hard. He can feel his fist hitting someone's face, but he can't see who the person is. All he knows is that the person is not fighting back. Chris doesn't understand. He's not this kind of fighter. Actually, he's not a fighter at all. His eyes are covered in tears, and when he manage to wipe them, he finally sees his victim: his father.

With that, Chris woke up and called for his father.

Chris cry was so full of pain that not only Leo woke up immediately than Wyatt fell out of his bed.

Both, father and son orbed to the youngest bedroom, finding him covered in sweat and shaking.

Leo immediately sat by Chris side.

"Chris, what happened? Are you okay?"

The younger Halliwell didn't answer. He couldn't say a word. All he was able to do was looking at his father's face. Leo and Wyatt exchanged worried glares, but Chris didn't notice. He was lost inside his mind.

Suddenly, the bedroom door opened and Piper went into the room. She grabbed his younger son's hand and begun talking to him, while she motioned the others to leave. Leo and Piper shared worried looks for a moment, something that caught Wyatt's attention. Definitely, his parents had a clue for what was happening to his brothers. But for some reason, he was afraid to ask.

"You'll be okay?" Wyatt asked his brother before leaving the room. Chris simply nodded, all the time resting his eyes on his mother.

When the two men left his room, Chris pulled his mom close to him, and resting his head on her shoulder, he manage to say to her in a whisper.

"Mom, I'm getting nuts..."

Tbc


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimers: See chapter 1

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. I love receiving each and all of them. Thanks a lot. I was re-reading the first chapter and I notice how many grammar and spelling mistakes I made. I'm really sorry but as I said, keep in mind English is not my native language. Remember: I'm doing my best here, okay?

Here's another short chapter, but hey, I finished one transcript today, and wrote two chapters, one for this fic and other to my songfic "Runaway Train" so I worked a lot.

Dear readers, please review! I love to hear what you think about my work. Reviews are real energy for fir writers, you know? It feels so good to know that actually someone read what we wrote.

Here we go again. Chris-aholics, remember: Chris rules!

Chapter 2

"Phoebe, I'm scared!" Piper said low, almost in a whisper, to her middle sister. They were at her newest restaurant, a very pleasant place with a beautiful garden and wonderful view.

"Piper, we're gone through this before. Remember nine years ago? It was when you were supposed to die. But you're here. And Wyatt didn't turn evil. And Leo is a full time daddy to the boys." Phoebe tried to bring some sense to her older sister.

"But you didn't see him. I can feel, Pheebs. There's something wrong happening to my little boy..." The oldest Halliwell sister started to cry.

Phoebe gentle began to wipe her sister's tears.

"Piper, I think we should go to your home."

"No! I don't want the boys to hear it. They don't need to know. You know that. Chris suffered so much on that other timeline. I don't want my little one suffering again." She said, holding Phoebe's hand tightly.

"Sweetie, he's almost 23. He's not a child anymore. He can take of himself. And I'm sure he doesn't like to hear you calling 'little boy' or 'little one'..." She said, with a forced smile because deep in her heart she was worried with her nephew, too.

"Oh yes. But you can, right? You act with him like he is 5." Piper said, pretending to be offended.

"Yep, but I'm his aunt. I'm suppose to spoil him." After a moment, she continued. "See, at least I made you laugh..." Phoebe continued. "And how's Leo? What did he say about this?"

"He's worried. He can sense the pain and confusion that Chris is in but... you know. We can't force him. We can't push him too hard. Leo is always afraid of doing something that might make Chris hate him." Piper sighed. "After all these years, he didn't get over it. And I totally understand."

"But Piper, what about these dreams he's having. Don't you know what are they about?"

"Nope. And he doesn't tell me. He doesn't tell any of us. Not even to Wyatt. And that's the worst since he always tells Wyatt everything..." Piper begun to cry again.

"Honey, you're pure hormones today, as I see." Phoebe begun, "but back on topic, so he didn't tell even Wyatt? And that's why you think his nightmares are related to the events?"

Piper just nodded.

"Oh sweetie..." Phoebe hugged her sister close, rubbing her back gently.

The sisters stayed that way for a while until Piper calmed down. Close to them, with his back resting on the white wall, Wyatt was invisible, his arms folded on his chest and his face down in worry.

Chris Halliwell was locked in his room, studying. His exams were coming and he didn't want to fail. He hated to fail. He always thought that he had to do his best, all the time, so his parents would be proud of him. It was hard to be part of the Halliwell family. It was really a hard name to live up to and since he was not as powerful as his brothers, not that he wanted to be, anyway, he was always trying to be the best on other subjects. He always managed to help his mom with her potions and still found time to be an A student in med. school. But his nightmares were becoming a problem. He was not sleeping well, so he wasn't being able to concentrate on his books. And man, how he hated that.

When Wyatt orbed into his brother's room, he found himself fighting not to sleep while reading some boring, in Wyatt's opinion, Anatomy book.

"Why don't you relax a bit. Take a nap. You're in need of it." Wyatt began, sitting on his brother's bed.

"I'm not tired. And I need to finish this essay for Monday." Chris answered, rubbing his eyes.

"Yep. You're not tired. You're just exhausted. C'mon, little bro, you have to take it easy if you want to live enough to graduate."

"What are you doing here, anyway, Wy? Shouldn't you be in P3 or in one of the restaurants working?" Chris asked, turning to look at his older brother.

"Nah, they can survive without me for a couple of hours. I wanted to check on you." Wyatt paused for a moment, not knowing exactly how to say what was on his mind. "I'm worried about you, Chris. You don't look very well..." Wyatt said, concern evident in his voice.

"I'm fine. It's just that I have lots of things to study and we had that stupid demons attacking later at night and... But I'm fine, I swear." He said, turning back to his book.

"You know what? I don't believe you. Why don't you tell me what's wrong? Don't you trust me anymore?" Wyatt got up from the bed and placed himself by his brother's side. "These nightmares you're having. What happens in them?"

"Wyatt, I need to study." Chris simply said, ignoring his brother's question.

"Chris." Wyatt rest one hand in his younger brother's shoulder and could sense how tense he was. "Please, tell me what's going on... I just wanna help you. We all wanna help you, kid."

"I can't talk about it, Wy. Not now." Chris sighed heavily. "Now, could you please leave me in peace so I can go back studying?"

"Sure." Wyatt answered, but before Chris could react, a gold dust fell on his face, making him sleep immediately. "You need this, little bro. You can thank me later. Or beat me. Whatever." Wyatt carried his brother to his bed, and turned the light off, so he could rest a little before his family arrives for diner.

tbc


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hey, everyone! Thank you so much for reviewing! I feel so flattered! Please, keep the reviews coming! That's what makes my writing world goes round. I'm almost finishing my songfic "**Runaway Train**" and I already have three different plots in my mind, so I'll probably start working on three new fanfics soon. And I finished two of the transcripts I was working on, so there's just one to go, what makes me kind of sad, since I was enjoying working on them so much (why not? Keep repeating Drew's scenes to understand and transcribe every single word he says... that's what I call a perfect job...) and yes, if you notice, I'm so excited! The live chat is coming and I can hardly wait. Well, enough rambling. You're here to read, right?

Disclaimers: The Charmed characters belong to TPTB. Chris belongs to himself. And to Piper, because he absolute loves his mommy.

As always, this one is dedicated to us, Chris-aholics!

Now, let's put this show on the road!

Chapter 3

Leo was on the top of the Golden Gate Bridge staring at nowhere. He was trying to put his mind in order.

"I can't lose him. I can't lose him again." – he said under his breath.

The images of Chris dying in arms, Leo not being able to save his younger son, have been haunting him all these years and they never eased. Neither did the pain.

Chris was so much like him, Leo thought. The Whitelighter didn't notice it in the past, but now it was so crystal clear. The young man decided to go to the med. school, just like Leo did decades ago. He had his Whitelighter part more active than his witch side, although of course the boy always loved to help his mom making potions and other stuffs. And he's always ready to help others. Leo remembered how the Chris from future told him what a bad father he was for him. Not for Wyatt. Just for him. And Leo could notice in the boy's voice and eyes that whatever Leo did, or didn't, it hurt him deeply. So Leo promised himself he'd not be that father. He'd be his children's best friend. He'd be there for them. And he'd love them with all his heart.

But the thought of losing Chris again was terrifying Leo. Chris had died in the past in the same day he was born. It was his 23rd birthday. And now the same date was coming again. What if something happens? Leo didn't want to think about it but he was scared. Scared to death.

Leo was there, watching the city when he heard his wife calling. Scared by the tone of her voice, he quickly orbed back home.

Paige and Piper were setting the plates for diner when they were caught by surprise by someone shimmering in front of them.

"What the..." Piper begun, but her voice died in her throat when she saw who was ready to attack them. Holding a dagger, all dressed in black leather, Bianca looked exactly the same as 24 years before. She managed to attack Piper, but Paige, aware of the Phoenix's expertise, orbed herself and her sister before Bianca could come close enough.

"This is not fair. She's a lot younger. And she can't be vanquished with magic." Paige muttered. The Halliwell sisters had orbed to behind the Phoenix, what gave them little advantage. "Piper, call the boys!" The youngest Charmed One told her sister, while she orbed a chair onto the brunette Phoenix.

"No. No way. My son has enough problems without knowing her." Piper said while ducking to avoid the dagger that was coming in her direction.

"Dagger!" Paige called and sent it back to the girl, who picked it in the air. "Good move." Paige said, clearly admired.

The three women were involved in the fight when Chris appeared on the top of the stairs.

"Hey!" – The young Halliwell shout, orbing himself to his mother's side and immediately sending Bianca flying with his telekinesis. "How you dare?" Chris looked at the stranger with anger in his eyes. She was attacking his mother and his aunt. She clearly doesn't think straight, he thought to himself.

"Shut up, kid." The Phoenix said, and shimmered again, appearing by Chris' side and stabbing him. Immediately Piper blew her, knowing that she wasn't really vanquished, but at least she'd leave them for now.

"Leo! Leo" – Piper cried, holding her bleeding son in her arms.

Leo appeared in a swirl of blue and white orbs and run to his wife direction.

"Piper, what happened?" But before she could answer he saw his son visibly in pain. The former Elder begun healing his son and both Piper and Paige could see that Leo was shaking. After a couple of minutes Chris was healed and his father helped him getting to his feet.

"Honey, are you sure you're okay?" – Piper was worried about his son.

"I'm fine, mom. Don't worry." He slowly sat on the couch. "Who was that?" he asked to his mom and aunt.

"I don't know." Paige lied, catching the threatening glare of Piper.

"So I'm gonna check on the Book." Chris begun to rise from the couch, but his father stopped him.

"No. You're recovering. You stay here." Leo said, seeing that something was going on between Piper and Paige. "We check on the Book, right?" He asked the sisters.

"I have a better idea." Piper said, sitting by her son's side. "Leo, you orb Chris to his room, I'll take something for you to eat there and Paige checks on the Book."

"I'm on it." Paige said, before orbing away to the attic.

"But mom, I don't want..." Chris started but Leo interrupted him.

"Better obey. You don't want to piss her off, do you?"

Chris thought for a moment.

"No. That girl just pissed her enough." He said, nodding his head slightly.

At the mention of a girl, Leo glared at Piper, but she was already heading to the kitchen.

Leo, Piper, Paige and Wyatt were eating in silence. Chris was forced to stay in his room, although he said he was fine. He thought his parents were over-reacting but didn't want to discuss so he accepted the fate that for at least the next 24 hours he'd be treated like a baby.

Suddenly, Wyatt rose his head and spoke up.

"What if we use a truth spell?" – He asked for approval.

"For what, Wyatt?" – Piper asked, but already knowing the answer.

"To find out what's bothering Chris so much." – the oldest Halliwell brother explained.

"Truth spell? Are you out of your mind?" – Piper almost screamed. If you needed to point a spell ready to backfire, this one would be the right choice.

"Sweetie, Chris will talk when he thinks it's time. Or he's ready." – Paige said to her nephew.

"I know you're all worried." Wyatt muttered.

"Yes, we are, son." Leo begun. "And we're trying to find a way to help your brother. But tricking him with a truth spell isn't the best way. It's not even a considerable way."

"Look at the brighter side. He at least slept a little this afternoon." Piper mentioned.

"Yes, because I used some sleeping dust on him." – Wyatt explained. "A special one. Nightmares free. I created it myself." – Wyatt explained proudly.

Piper smiled grateful to her oldest son.

"Thanks, Wyatt. I'm sure your brother needed it."

"I know. But it was only a palliative. We need to know what is causing the nightmares so we can stop it once and for all." Wyatt Halliwell said in a mixture of angry and concern.

"Right now I'm more concerned about that earlier attack." Paige said matter of factly.

"Who attacked you?" Wyatt asked, turning his attention to his aunt.

"A Phoenix." – Paige explained, looking from Piper to Leo. "I checked on the Book."

Leo rose his eyebrows at the mention of the word Phoenix and wondered if they were talking about the Phoenix they knew.

"They are hired assassins. We have to discover who hired her." Leo explained.

"Is there a vanquishing potion?" Wyatt asked again.

"Nope. But we vanquished a couple of them years ago. We know how to do that." Piper said, and as she was saying that, realization dawned on her mind. Along with the other Phoenixes they vanquished Bianca's mother. "Leo, I don't think she was hired this time. I think she was working on her own." The oldest Halliwell sister rose from her seat. - "We need to get prepared. Could you orb me to the attic?" She asked her husband.

"Sure."

"I take care of the dishes." Wyatt said, defeated as his aunt orbed after his parents. "They can vanquish that Phoenix. I have to focus on Chris."

When Piper, Leo and Paige orbed in the attic, they found Chris reading the Book. Next to him, there was an old chair with its leg broken.

"Christopher, what do you think you're doing? You're supposed to be in bed." Piper said, alarmed.

The boy shrugged before turning to his family.

"Nothing special. Just getting ready to vanquish a Phoenix."

Tbc


	4. New Chapter 4

A/N: Hey all! Thanks for the reviews. I am now back in the road with this chapter. I did some changes, as you'll see. I really hope you like it (waits anxiously for approval :blinks: ), let me know what you think.

Enjoy!

Chapter 4

"Oh, really?" That was all Piper was able to say. She really didn't expect that statement coming from Chris. During the past years she had wondered when, how and if Chris would meet Bianca. If they were in the other timeline, Chris' original timeline, by this time they'd be already engaged. For God's sake, they'd be engaged since he was 21. But it didn't happen and as she could see, wasn't going to happen either. Looking to her husband, Piper could see a glimpse of joy in Leo's eyes. He noticed Piper staring at him.

"What?" He asked his wife.

"I know exactly what you're thinking." She said under her breath.

"And?" He asked, needing to know her opinion on that.

"And I... kind of agree with you..." She answered feeling slightly ashamed.

"Uh... guys?" Paige called their attention and cocked her head to Chris's direction, pointing to him. He was busy improvising a kind of a dagger made by a piece of wood from the broken chair.

"This'll work." He was muttering to himself.

"Chris, you're not going anywhere." Piper demanded. She didn't know which one, she or her son, would regret that so she decided not to take chances.

"Okay, I'll summon her, then." He answered, shrugging.

"No. You're not doing any of these. You're going right back to your room. That's it." Piper said, angrily.

"You can't do that." Chris was getting angry, too. He didn't understand why his mother was acting like this. That Phoenix was an assassin. She tried to kill her. The least he could do was vanquishing her. Simple as that.

As if Piper could read Chris' mind she sighed and walked in his direction.

"Listen, honey. I know you're angry with her, but let us take care of it, okay? Let us figure this out. Maybe a vanquish won't be necessary after all. We don't want to regret our actions, right?" She said, holding his arm and looking him in the eye.

Chris lowered his head, sighed and finally nodded.

"Right."

"Great. Now why don't you and your dad go downstairs and find something else to do, like watching sports or a movie? Wyatt's probably doing nothing. You three could do nothing together"

"No. That's okay. I need to come back to my studies. Wyatt tricked me earlier and made me sleep, but now I have to finish my essay." He gently bent to kiss her forehead and turned to leave.

"Good night, mom. Good night, dad. Aunt Paige."

They all said their good nights to him, and when the coast was clear, Piper took control of the situation again.

"Leo, please, go get Phoebe. We really need to figure this out."

&&

Chris walked down the stairs slowly and walked towards the corridor to his room. He got in and flicked his hand to close it. A couple of minutes later he was already working on his essay when he heard a knock on the door. _Man, Wyatt is not going to leave me in peace, today?_ He thought while he was walking to the door to open it. To his surprise, when opened the door he found his little cousin, Prue, standing in front of him.

"Hi, can we talk?" She said, and it was not in her happiest voice. Chris stepped to the side to let her in. She walked slowly and sat on the chair Chris was occupying moments ago.

"So, what happened, Prue?" Chris asked concerned, seeing how upset she was.

"My empathy is developing..." She begun to explain staring the wall, then she added. "You know nobody knows about my empathic powers besides you and Wyatt, right?"

"Yeah, sure."

Prue seemed not knowing how to go on. Whatever it was that was bothering her, it was probably huge.

"You know dad took the empathic blocking potion, like everybody else in this family, by the way, right?"

Chris simply nodded, somehow starting to understand where she was going.

"Wait, you can read your father?" Chris asked astonished.

"And what I discovered was not that pleasant. Apparently our blood bond is stronger than the blocking potion." She explained, letting her shoulders down. She was tired and she needed to talk to someone desperately.

Chris was waiting patiently for her to share her discoveries but then he thought something. Maybe what she discovered was too personal. Maybe it was something dark and ugly. Maybe she just wanted to vent but not get into details. Chris was now sitting on the edge of his bed and gestured to the youngest Halliwell to sit by his side. He put his arm around her shoulders and she rested her head on his chest. Soon she was silently crying.

&&

"Okay. This is too much. First Chris, then Prue and now Bianca? I'm not sure I can handle all these issues..." Phoebe said, sitting heavily on the couch.

"Don't forget Wyatt and all his girlfriends. At 25 you'd think a boy would slow down..." Piper noted. Then, realizing something, she asked her middle sister. "What's up with Prue?"

"Oh, nothing. Well, nothing big. At least I hope it's nothing big." Phoebe managed to say. "It's just that, sometimes she looks so much like me in some aspects, you know... And I think she's dating someone. I'm almost positive about that..." She moved her head up and down trying to relax.

"What's the problem with her dating, Pheebs? She's 16!" Paige defended her niece. She was the only Halliwell sister who didn't have child so she was always ready to defend the Halliwell's kids.

"The problem, Paige, is that she is hiding this boyfriend. She thinks I don't know. But I've been there before. I know exactly how it is."

Piper laughed at her sister's comment.

"Now you know exactly how Grams felt." Piper said between laughs.

"The point is, what if she's dating someone she's not suppose to?" Phoebe sounded really concerned.

"Like what?" Paige asked, then realization hit her. "You mean, like Cole?"

"Yeah. You see, if I did that, and she knows it, if I married a demon, why wouldn't she?" Piper sat by her middle sister's side and let her rest her head on her lap. "You see, why else would she hide this boyfriend from me?"

"If it is really a boyfriend..." Paige tried again.

The family looked at each other in silence. Phoebe really had a point there.

On the other side of the town, a menacing figure stared at her dagger. Bianca couldn't wait for her revenge.

"They destroyed my family. Now it's my turn. I waited too long. Now they're too distracted with their children." She gently caress the blade of her dagger. "It's my turn. And I'll hurt the Charmed Ones. Bad."

tbc


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: New chapter up. Hope you like this one.

Answering a question, no, Chris and Prue are no longer a couple in this fic. I had to change my sub-plot, which you'll notice in this chapter. Please, let me know what you think of this. And on a side note, I'm already working on what looks like the last chapter of **Runaway Train**. Stay tuned.

As always, this one is dedicated to all Chris-aholics out there.

Thanks for all who reviewed. Hope you enjoy this one.

Chapter 5

Chris was now struggling to sleep. What a day he had! And unfortunately it was an average day in the Halliwell's family. Well, almost. What his cousin told him was huge. Really huge. He still couldn't believe. _Someone needs to talk to Aunt Phoebe, he_ thought. But he wouldn't be the one. _Maybe I should tell mom. Yes. That's exactly what I'm gonna do early in the morning. She'll know how to deal with this. Man. I just can't believe it._ Chris was tired but couldn't sleep. He was not only thinking about his cousin's problem but he couldn't let go the weird feeling he had when the Phoenix stabbed him. It was a feeling of _dejá vù _he couldn't ignore. He rolled from a side to the other until he finally fell asleep. And with his sleep, his nightmares came again.

Chris was in the attic. That was all he could notice. And he was desperate. He had to do something quickly. He had to save someone. And then he felt the pain. He felt the sharp pain of a dagger on his stomach.

Chris woke again covered in cold sweat. _It was not how it happened._ He told himself. _I think I'm mixing reality with my nightmares now._

He tried to sleep again but all the time these same images came back and after a while he just gave up and orbed to the sunroom to see if there was something interesting on TV at that hour.

&&&

Phoebe was pacing in her bedroom, while her husband was sleeping soundly in their bed. She was truly worried about Prue. The 16 year old was distant and in a bad mood most of the time. She was acting just like Chris when he went to the past, she thought. And it made her feel even worried. He acted strange because he was hiding something. Shit, he was hiding lots of things, actually. And so probably Prue was hiding something, too. Paige was trying to be reasonable. Maybe it wasn't a boyfriend, after all. At least, not a demon one. But Paige didn't know. Paige never knew Phoebe when she was a teenager. And Paige didn't have kids. How could she know? Phoebe pulled back from her thoughts by his husband, or better saying, by the fact that her husband was mumbling something in his sleep, She didn't understand what he was saying, so she decided to ignore it.

I'll try talking to her in the morning. Phoebe decided._ And if doesn't work, I'll try talking to Chris. They're like best friends. I know he'll help me._

&&&

The next morning arrived and Chris hadn't slept at all. He was so tired that he didn't get out of his bed. A knock on the door announced that someone was chosen to come to see how he was. With his head under the sheets, trying to protect his eyes from clarity, he heard the door being opened and the soft steps made clear it was his mother the one entering the room.

"Chris, sweetie, are feeling okay?" Piper asked concerned. "Why didn't you come down for breakfast?"

Chris didn't answer but uncovered his head, allowing Piper to contemplate her son's tired face. His hair was a mess, he had dark circles around his eyes and he was pale, deadly pale. Piper touched his forehead and wasn't entirely surprised when she found out he had fever. She was about to call her husband, but Chris stopped her.

"No. Mom, first I need to talk to you about something."

"I'm all ears." Piper told her son, hoping that he'd open up about his nightmares. "It's about Prue, well it's about something Prue discovered."

Piper cocked her head to the side in a typical Piper and Chris way, while she kept stroking his light brown hair with her fingers. She tried not to look too curious, but after what Phoebe said the night before, knowing what was up with Prue could bring some relieve to the family.

"Mom, you're not gonna like it." Chris said in a serious tone that made her frown.

&&&

Back in Phoebe's house, Alex, her husband, was leaving to work and was waiting for his daughter so he could give her a ride. He noticed that Prudence was avoiding him the last couple of days and he was worried about that. He thought that driving her to school would give him the opportunity he wanted to talk to her.

For his dismay, though, Phoebe had other plans.

"No, honey. Prue's not going to school today. We're gonna have a girls day, right sweetie?" Phoebe said, turning to her daughter who was coming from her room at that exactly moment.

"Phoebe, she can't just miss school because you want to spend some time with our daughter." Alex said, still not believing in his wife's behavior.

"Not a simple time, a quality time." She said, ignoring her husband's protest.

"Now you go. And have a wonderful day of work. And if you be a good boy, we can have our own quality time together going out for dinner." She said, kissing him while he was being forced to head to the door.

Closing the door behind her, Phoebe turned her attention back to her daughter.

"Now, pretty, what you wanna do?" Phoebe asked her daughter and Prue sighed, knowing that her mother's enthusiasm wouldn't last long. Not if she didn't discover what she wanted.

&&&

"He what?" Piper was up on her feet so quickly it looked like she was being attacked by a demon. Chris managed to sit, his legs still under the sheets, and waited in silence for his mother to calm down.

"That's exactly how I reacted." He explained, after she sat on the corner of his bed again.

"But how did Prue discover that?" Piper couldn't believe what she was told. But if Chris was telling her, so it was true. Still, she couldn't believe her ears.

"I can't tell you that." He looked guiltily to his mother. "Sorry, mom, but I made a promise and I keep my promises." He said holding Piper's hand. "I learnt it from you." She smiled at his son. Chris always made her proud. Her heart ached a when she remembered what Gideon had done to him, or at least to the other version of him. That thought made her shiver. She reminded all the tension she and Leo had been lately with Chris' birthday coming. Deciding to put it into rest at least for the moment, she turned her attention back to what her son was telling her.

"So I guess I'll have to talk to Phoebe." Piper ran her fingers through her long hair, which was beginning to become gray. "Now, let me call your father, so he can heal you. I don't like to see my baby sick." She said, teasing him.

"Mom, I'm not a baby." He said, but couldn't suppress a laughter. He always felt safe and relaxed with his mother by his side.

Leo came quickly and begun his 'magic'. The only thing was that it didn't worked. He held his hand over his son's body, and they could see the gold glow coming from his hands, but it didn't work. Chris's fever didn't ease.

"Leo, go after Wyatt. Maybe it'll work if you two try together."

The Whitelighter nodded and smiled to his wife, trying to reassure her, but Piper knew he was as concerned as she was.

"You hold on, buddy. I'll be right back." He said to his younger son, and orbed right after.

Tbc


	6. Chapter 6

****

A/N: Sorry for taking so long to post this. I was really in the middle of a serious writer's block. It took me almost two weeks to write this. Actually I started writing yesterday's morning and finished yesterday's night, after watching Lorelai and Luke on their first date. I so love Luke and his new attitude.

Anyway, sorry for some foolish mistakes I've done in the past chapters. I re-wrote chapter 4 in a hurry, so some details escaped my not-so-focused-at-the-time mind. -Phoebe's husband is called Alex. I already have two Andrews in other fics so I guess I just have this name on my mind.

-Phoebe's daughter is 16 year-old. I planned her to be 18 on my first plot, but since I changed it, I thought 16 would be a better age for the new intent.

à Thanks everyone who noticed my mistakes and so gently let me know. I really appreciated that.

I wrote the chapter 4 under the pressure of creating a new plot line out of the blue. Please, dearest one who is reading this, please forgive me all the stupid mistakes.

Finally, thanks to all who reviewed, and thanks in advantage for all who are still going to review this little work of mine. It was meant to be a short fic but I just noticed that I have one main plot line (Chris and his nightmares related to the past) and two secondary ones (Phoebe's daughter and Bianca's revenge) so I guess I'll need more chapters than I thought at first.

All I can hope is that you enjoy it.

Now, I just talked too much. What you really want is to read this, right?

Please, review and let me know what you think. This is short chapter but I hope to have more inspiration after the living chat tomorrow.

On to the story!

Chapter 6

Leo orbed into his older son's bedroom and found him already awake. Wyatt was usually not a morning person. He was used to stay at the P3 after the club closed, helping the employees and after they left, he'd have the club all to himself. Sometimes even Chris joined him there. The older Halliwell son enjoyed to see the club crowded but he also enjoyed the atmosphere there when there was no one. Living in a house that was full of people all the time can make a man urge for some time alone.

When Leo went to Wyatt's room he expected to find his son soundly sleeping but Wyatt was there fully awake laying on his back staring at ceiling absently.

"Wyatt?" Leo tried but received no answer.

"Wyatt?"

The young man seemed to finally notice that there was someone else in the room. Still with his hands crossed behind his head, he said without changing his position.

"Morning, dad. Need something?"

"Wyatt, are you okay?" Leo could notice that there was something off on the tone of his son's voice and for a second he forgot why he was there in the first place.

"I'm fine. Has Chris left to class already?"

"Chris, that's why I'm here." Leo said suddenly, worried.

"What's wrong with Chris?" Wyatt was pulled back to reality he rose himself quickly and stood in front of his father. Leo however pushed his son back to the bed gently and stared at him. Wyatt looked away just like Chris had been doing lately and that put the whitelighter alert.

"Son, is there something bothering you?" But all his eldest son did was shaking his head in response.

"Are you sure? Doesn't look like that from where I stand."

"Dad, you said you were here because of Chris. What's wrong with him?"

Leo, defeated, explained.

&&

Bianca was pacing, irritated. Close to her an old woman was sitting on the border of a dark lake.

"Have you seen nothing yet?"

"Patience is a virtue." The woman simply replied, her wrinkled fingers touching the water gently.

"Don't talk to me about patience. For the past nine years I've been on the shadows waiting for the right moment. And that moment finally came. They are distracted, worrying about their children."

"You know Tirus thought the same in the past and you know what happened."

Bianca stopped pacing and turned to the woman with rage.

"Tirus was an idiot who claimed to be much more than he really was. But he is past. I'll finish what he tried to start nine years ago. I'll kill the Charmed Ones. One by one."

Controlling her temper, Bianca started pacing again. "But I'll have to take one at a time."

The old woman stopped touching the water, and slowly an image formed.

&&

Wyatt and Leo got into Chris's room, the same room the brothers' used to share when they were younger, when all the sisters lived under the same roof. Phoebe was actually the only one who really moved out. Paige and her husband, who happened to be a teacher at Magic School just like her, decided to share their time between the manor and the school, so she really never moved. That was the best solution for them and it was easy since Paige could orb.

To Leo's surprise they didn't find Chris in bed as expected. The boy was burning with fever moments ago. Now he didn't know where he could be. The two men looked around at the empty bedroom, both worried.

"Dad, you said Chris was sick, so, where is he?" Wyatt asked, walking towards his baby brother's room.

"Looking for me?" Chris came from the bathroom, his hair wet and with shaving cream on his face. He didn't looked great but he definitely looked better than when Leo left him to wake up the other son.

"What happened?" Leo asked genuinely surprised. "Are you feeling better?"

"I don't know," Chris answered, returning to the bathroom, followed by the other men, "maybe the healing just took a little longer to show its effects. But I'm feeling better." The younger Halliwell tried to sound unconcerned but he knew he couldn't fool his father, or his older brother for that matter. As Chris expected, the two older men didn't seem too convinced.

"So you're sure you're okay?"

"Yes, dad. I'm fine. You didn't need to wake up Wyatt."

Leo was about to say something but Wyatt spoke before him.

"Dad, why don't go help mom? Little bro and I will be there in a minute."

Leo looked to his eldest son with an inquiring look and for the second time that morning Wyatt looked away.

__

Great, Leo thought before orbing out, _now I have two sons hiding things. Piper is gonna kill me._

Tbc.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: This is another short chapter, sorry. And sorry for taking so long to post this. I'll try to write more this week, I promise. Yesterday I finally watched the season finale, so you can imagine how I am feeling right now...

Thank you all who reviewed and who'll review. Love you all! Lots and lots and lots of love for you!

Anyway, please, let me know what you think, and if you have any suggestion, let me know. I already have two or three new plot lines but I don't intend to start them until I finish this one. And I am not really happy with the way I finished **Runaway Train** so I'll probably be rewriting the last chapter, just don't know when.

Disclaimers: I own nothing, except this story and a book that tries to teach me how to write a screenplay. But I'd love to own Christopher. I loved when Phoebe said "baby Christopher".

Now, on to the story!

Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 7

"Now that he left..." Wyatt begun sitting on the edge of his brother's bed, "I really need to ask you something..."

"Yeah?" Chris answered distracted while he picked a white t-shirt and a dark green sweatshirt from his closet.

"Did you get stabbed in your nightmares?"

Chris froze for a moment. He was wondering how his brother would know about know about that.

"Is it what happens in your nightmares?" The eldest Halliwell brother was getting anxious because of the lack of an answer from his brother.

Slowly, the green eyed boy turned to Wyatt, an unreadable expression on his face.

"It only happened in my last nightmare."

"Last night?" Wyatt asked, but it was more like a statement.

"The whole damn night." Chris finished finally letting visible how tired he was and sat by his brother's side. "How did you know?"

"I had the same nightmare last night." Wyatt explained.

"But how?"

"I don't know." Then Wyatt placed a hand on his brother's forehead and changed the subject. "But first thing first. You don't look very well."

"Neither do you. But this is new." Chris said, smiling.

Wyatt ignored the remark and continued.

"Dad said you had fever."

"Yeah, but it's gone now. I guess it was psychological. You know, being under too much stress."

Wyatt gave him a funny look.

"This is your opinion as a future doctor?"

"That's what mom said after dad left the room." Chris paused. "But I think she was right."

"Hope so. And I hope you relax. Emotional sickness can't be healed with whitelighter's magic."

"And our powers are linked to our emotions." Chris finished his brother's thought.

The two young men stayed in silence for a while, lost in their own minds.

"Wyatt", Chris suddenly said. He was curious and worried about one thing. "How come you had the same dream I had?"

"I don't know. But we'll figure this out, bro. I promise you. But right now I think we better go down have breakfast before mom comes here hunting us."

&&

Phoebe had the whole day planed, the day she decided to spend with her daughter. Doing that, she expected Prue to open up with her because she was really worried. But before she could put her plan in to action, she had to go to the newspaper's office to pick up some letters since she intent to work later, at her home.

During their way Prue didn't say a word and that made Phoebe even more worried. She still cursed from time to time that Chris had showed Leo how to get that stupid empath-blocking potion, in the past. Chris. Thinking on her youngest nephew made the middle sister forget her problems for a while. All the things that have been happening to the kid lately (Phoebe smiled to herself – despite everything, she still though about Chris as a little kid). She knew how everybody was so overprotective about him. Even Wyatt, who didn't know what happened in the past. He was always looking after his baby brother, just like Leo. Chris may had drunk the potion but Phoebe didn't need her empathy to see how annoyed Chris got sometimes because everybody seemed to be fussing around him as if he was made of crystal.

Phoebe's mind then turned to Paige. Her young sister was acting odd lately and Phoebe knew why. Paige had witnessed when Chris died in Leo's arms. She saw everything. She saw their beloved neurotic nephew die and fade away. The empath still remembered when Paige came to her in the hospital and told her what happened. God, it ached so much. Paige and Leo got depressed and Phoebe had to work double so Piper wouldn't notice. Luckily she was powerless then. She was sure their suffering were so overwhelming that no potion could be able to block and she was not ready for that. She was mourning herself and she had to hide it from Piper, which was close to impossible since Piper knew her too well.

Leo at least had baby Chris so he spent all the time he could with his two sons. But Paige? Poor Paige didn't have this freedom. In fact, it took a couple of weeks until Paige finally got enough strength to take little Chris in her arms for the first time. And then she cried. She cried like Phoebe never saw her crying before. That was when they decided to tell Piper the truth, what really happened to Chris.

"Mom?"

Prue's soft voice woke Phoebe up from her daydream.

"Yeah, sweetie?"

"I thought we were going to the Bay Mirror..."

"So?"

"Shouldn't we have, I don't know, turned to that street two blocks ago?"

Phoebe looked around. She was too distracted. She sighed sadly; she could have provoked an accident!

"Okay. Let's take the next return, okay?"

Prue simply nodded.

"Then, we'll go have some fun." Phoebe finished, deciding to pay more attention to the street and forget the family problems, at least until she parked.

Tbc


	8. Chapter 8

Special A/N: I have made a mistake about Paige here, so I had to change a paragraph of this fic, that's why I replaced it. Sorry, everyone! Thank you so much **Cardea**, for calling my attention about this.

A/N 1: Hey, guys! I am back with a longer chapter! Yes! I hope you like it. We have a Leo/Piper moment here and we learn more about members of the family and how their lives are. The next chapter is almost ready... inside my brain. Now I have to type it. Hope to have it ready soon.

A/N 2: Thank you sooooo much for your reviews. They make me so happy! If you don't know, let me tell you a secret: reviews make us, writers so happy, they make it so worth while. I scream and I bounce with excitement every time I find that beautiful "Review Alert" in my mail box. Honestly, my co-worker knows that I received a review just to look at me and see that silly childish smile plastered on my face. I love it. I absolutely love it, so please, keep them coming!

A/N 3: - **CharmedFreak**: I decided that Prue would be 16 yo, check on A/N on chapter 7 to see why.

-**Bluley**: that part about Paige, well it didn't leave my mind since I saw the finale last Monday. I really felt for her.

Feedback: Always truly appreciated.

****

This is, of course, dedicated to all Chris-aholics around the world. And baby Chris-aholics, too. :D And all Charmed fans, in fact.

__

"And I wanna thank you

for giving me the best days of my life."

Thank You by Dido

Now, let's put this show on the road.

Chapter 8

Despite all Phoebe's efforts, she wasn't able to make her daughter to talk to her. Well, at least, to talk about what was bothering her so much lately. Again, Phoebe hoped it was not a boyfriend, especially a demon-boyfriend.

They were having lunch in a restaurant and having small talk. Suddenly Phoebe, who was doing most of the talk, by the way, stopped and sighed heavily. That called Prue's attention.

"What? What happened, mom? Did you have a premonition?" the daughter asked, looking straight to Phoebe. As years gone by, Phoebe's powers evolved and she was able to control them better. Except when it was related to her family. Premonition about members of the family in real need of help now came without warning, and without the need of her touching something that belongs to the person. And of course, the migraines eased, although didn't go away completely.

"No." Phoebe paused. "I was just thinking." Another pause. "Am I that boring? You don't seem to be having a good time..." She sighed again, feeling defeated.

"No, mom. Don't say that. It's just. It's just that I have too much on my mind right now." Prue held her mother's hand, trying to reassure her.

"How come a sixteen year old have so much on her mind? Why don't you talk to me?" Phoebe asked, her eyes meeting her daughter's deep brown eyes.

Prue freed her hand and turned her attention back to the foot on her plate.

__

Damn it – Phoebe thought – _I was almost there._

"Prue."

"Yes, mom?" The girl answered without looking up.

"Sorry, sweetie. I didn't mean to upset you. I'm sorry. I am just worried about you."

"That's okay." The teenage Halliwell said still not looking at her mother.

And after that they stayed there for a while, eating in silence.

&&

At the manor, Leo and Piper were eating alone. After assuring his parents that he was feeling better and that he'd call if something happens, Chris left to college. He had already lost one class but there was an important one he didn't want to lose. He was a dedicated student and all, but it helped him to head to college today, despite not feeling 100% yet, the fact that he asked Erin, a girl who have some classes with him on a date, and he wanted to confirm it for that night.

Wyatt headed to the club to work. He controlled all the family restaurants from the office at P3. He intended to let everything ready quickly, before his mother arrived, because he wanted to go to Magic School to do some research on what was going on with his baby brother and, apparently, with him, too. He didn't want to make excuses for Piper, so it'd better if he had already left when she came to work.

So there they were, two worried parents of two young men, two powerful young men, for sure, but still, children to their eyes.

"I can't believe now Wyatt decided to be secretive too..." Leo muttered mostly to himself.

"You think he is hiding something?"

"Seems to be everybody's theme song lately, Chris, Wyatt, Prue. I don't know what's happening with this generation." Leo sighed. He's been feeling defeated a lot lately and he surely didn't like the feeling.

"It's probably just a phase, Leo. Weren't you like this when you were young, too?" Piper said trying to light up the whole situation that she was sure was really much more complicated.

"You kept secrets from Penny? I always thought it was the other way around." Leo teased his wife.

"Yeah, yeah." She smiled.

"But the point is, aren't Wyatt and Chris too old for this teenage game? I mean, I can understand Prue acting this way, she is a teenager. But the boys? They're adults!" Leo placed his fork on his plate noisily.

"Hey! My dishware has nothing to do with it. It is innocent!"

Leo laughed at Piper comment and stretched his arm so he could hold her delicate hand.

"You're just amazing, you know that?"

Piper smiled in return.

"Anyway, you say Chris and Wyatt are adults, but you definitely don't treat them that way." She teased the whitelighter.

"And you do?" Leo frowned.

"Well, at least I gave Wyatt a job..."

"Yeah, but you keep checking on them during night and you don't sleep until they arrive, no matter how late it is."

"And so do you." She glared menacingly to him. "And, I am not the one who orbed to where they are just to be sure they're fine and they're not in trouble. Leo, if they ever discover or if you see something you're not supposed to..."

Leo blushed slightly at that comment. He'd never tell Piper, or anyone for that matter, that he had already witnessed things he wasn't supposed to, nothing dirty, usually fights with girlfriends or parties that would make Piper freak out. Leo would orb away immediately if he arrived in the middle of an argument of one of his sons and a girlfriend. There was only one time he didn't go away and stayed there, invisible. It was years ago but he remembered it clearly. Chris was arguing with his girlfriend, his first girlfriend in fact. Leo didn't want to leave the room, the manor's attic, because he knew how the two teenagers were upset. When the girl ran from the manor that afternoon, Leo orbed after her and talked to her. She was one of his charges, so she didn't question the fact that he appeared right after the fight. Later that night he argued with his younger son and menaced to ground him, but it didn't work since Chris was already eighteen then. It was the first, and as far as Leo remembered, only fight he had with his youngest.

When Leo woke up from his little travel through memories, he found Piper staring curiously at him.

"A dollar for your thoughts." She smiled, that sweet bright smile of hers that always melted his old heart.

"I was just remembering stuffs. Nothing important."

"Anyway, do you plan on finishing your lunch anytime soon? Because I have to go to the club and check on the new restaurant, you know. Will you come with me?"

"Of course. But weren't you going to meet Phoebe?"

"I called her, told her that we need to talk but she said she was spending the day with Prue, so she'd come here later so we can talk."

"And you won't tell me what is the subject."

"No, honey, not now. But I promise I'll tell you as soon as I talk to Pheebs. I am quite sure you'll be of great help."

"You know you're scaring me, don't you?"

"Yeah, but I love you."

"I love you, too." Leo rose from his seat and walking towards Piper, placed a soft kiss on her lips.

&&

Later that day Piper was impatient. Phoebe didn't arrive as they had agreed and every time she called her sister, all she got was a voicemail.

Piper and Paige were watching t.v. in silence. Chris was out on a date, Wyatt was at P3 and Leo was with a temporary charge, a young wizard who had just moved to San Francisco.

"Piper, you look worried, what's going on?" Paige asked concerned.

"I am worried about Phoebe. She should be here by now."

"Maybe she and Alex decided to go out, have some fun, you know."

"If so, Paige, she'd have sent Prue here, you know that."

"You know something that I don't, isn't it?" Paige was not even more concerned than before.

Piper sighed. She needed to talk about that with someone and Paige was just the right person. So she begun to explain to her younger sister everything Chris had told her earlier that day.

Paige jaw dropped opened. She couldn't believe it. Poor Phoebe, she thought.

"At least, we have one another." Paige whispered. "And your family, Piper. You guys are the basis for us all." Piper hugged her baby sister. Paige was one of the sweetest persons she ever met, but sometimes she was little naïve when it comes to heart issues. She almost got married to the wrong guy twice, before meeting her husband. She always dreamed about having children, but it never happened, so she believed it was just not meant to be. Paige thought of how lucky she was for not having to face what Phoebe was about to.

Piper hugged her baby sister tight and they rested on each other's embrace. They were in that position for some time when they heard the doorbell ring.

Piper immediately got up and headed to the door, followed by Paige. When she opened the door, she felt her heart breaking into a million pieces.

'Phoebe..." That was all Paige could say before her older sister came in, followed by her daughter, who was clearly shaking. Piper and Paige, understanding what happened, involved Phoebe in a tight hug and let her cry.

Tbc

Obs.: I'd like to invite you guys to read my two other fics (the two of them are one-shot): Futures: New and Old (Phoebe centered) and Everything is gonna be alright? (Paige centered). Thanks for your sweet and nice attention.


	9. Chapter 9

****

A/N: Hey, I am back! If you read before I made some changes in the last chapter, please check in there before reading this. I had made confusion about Paige's marital status from one chapter to the other, but _Cardea_ noticed and let me know, so I changed it. Thank you so much for your help!

I wanna apologize in advantage to _Cyndrarae_, from who I took the idea of the Power of The Progeny. By the way, if you didn't read her fic _Destiny still Awaits_, you should. It's one of the best emotional pieces I've ever read.

Thank you so much to all of you who have been reading and reviewing, and to you who will still review my fic. I so love to find that Review Alerts on my mail. It makes my day brighter and better. Please, keep them coming!

I first thought this would be a difficult chapter to write, but right after I started, it begun flowing like a river. I really enjoyed writing this one. I hope you enjoy reading it.

Well, enough rambling. Time to go to what matters.

__

"Take a look at me now 'cause there's just an empty space.

And if you coming back to me is against all odds.

That's a chance I've gotta take."

Against All Odds – Phil Collins.

Chapter 9

When Leo arrived that night he found the Charmed Ones in silence in the living room, one holding the others for support.

They've been through that road before but the pain was still almost unbearable. Being a witch was a family secret for various reasons, not only because magic should not be exposed, but they didn't want to be exposed either. You never can guess how an innocent will react when you tell that secret, that there's much more in this world than the average eye can catch. So it was always a bless when they find someone who they trusted enough to tell their secret still be friends. Alex was one of those. He was an innocent the sisters saved twenty years ago. Of course he freaked out at first. Who wouldn't, being attacked by a nasty demon in the middle of the desert parking lot of the office building where he used to work and being saved by three young women, one of them still carrying a babybag. He learnt later that they were witches, good witches, and they ended up becoming friends. Of course that he being a pediatrician helped a lot since Piper had two little boys and it was a relieve to her to go to a doctor without being worried of what her sons would do in front of the good doctor. Soon, he and Phoebe begun to date and in two years they were married. Nobody ever imagined that living surrounded by magic, and having not only a wife who fights demons but also a daughter who was starting to follow her mom's footsteps would affect him after all that time. But it did.

Nobody saw it coming. Phoebe didn't, for sure. But that night she received an ultimate. She should bind her powers, and Prue's powers, if she wanted to keep their marriage. He asked her to give up on her destiny. Of course she had thought about that before. She surely did when she lost her oldest sister, Prue, so many years ago. But now it was too much part of her. She couldn't remember how she was before discovering that she was a witch. She couldn't remember who she was, for god sakes. She was lost. But she found her way along with her sisters. She found her destiny and was ready give her life for it, if necessary. Her nephew had done it years ago so they could be living in a happier safer world now. She wouldn't give up on her legacy, on what she inherited from the women who came before her and who she admired with all her heart and soul.

But Alex asked it. Even though he knew the answer, he asked. Phoebe couldn't understand why this sudden change on her husband's behavior and attitude about what she was, what her family was. Neither her sisters understood. They didn't see it coming. That was why it was so shocking when Chris told Piper earlier in the morning. Why Alex would take eighteen years to decide that that was not the life he wanted to live. But it was not really a decision taken out of a sudden, they realized. It was probably growing up on him for long now. And Prue started showing at home with scars from the vanquishes she was starting to take part in, he probably just lost it. It was understandable, but not acceptable. Asking a Charmed One to give up on her destiny was asking to kill the Power of Three, and put an uncountable number of innocents at risk, not to mention themselves. Of course that there was Wyatt and Chris, the Charmed Progeny, but they were still the Charmed Ones, and the mention of their names still made the Underworld to tremble with fear.

Alex had asked Phoebe to choose between him and her legacy, her family's destiny. She chose the latter. And he left.

Right after her husband left, Phoebe and her daughter headed to the family manor so she could find comfort in the arms of the ones she knew would never betray her.

Later Phoebe told her sisters that she and Prue needed to go home, but family members now present, Piper, Paige, Leo and Vincent, Paige's husband, convinced the middle Halliwell sister to stay for the night. She'd feel better sleeping there in her old home. Phoebe was reluctant at first but ended up agreeing with them, so Piper started setting things up so mother and daughter could sleep in the attic.

The four Halliwell women were in the attic when Chris finally arrived home from his date. He found his father and his uncle in the living room talking about what had happened that night and Chris didn't need to hear much to understand that what he and Prue were worrying about happened sooner than they expected.

Orbing to the attic he found the sisters and Prue sitting in silence, looking at old pictures.

"Hey." Chris said, walking to his mother's direction and placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Don't your favorite aunts deserve kisses too?" Paige said, joking. She was trying her best to keep the good mood for her older sister.

"Of course." The young man answered, kissing Paige on her right cheek. When he came close to Phoebe, instead of just kissing her, he enveloped her in a tight hug, just like his mother uses to hug him when she senses he is not fine. Phoebe didn't try to let go. Instead, she allowed herself to cry on her nephew's shoulder. Having his whitelighter side more developed; Chris was always able to do the right thing to bring comfort. He knew when to push and when to pull away, when to hug and when to give space, when to talk and when to listen. It was a gift. A gift he shared with his father, but indeed a gift.

After a while they finally let go of each other and Chris, holding his cousin's hand to show her he was there for her, looked at his surroundings.

"You two are so not going to sleep here. You stay in my bedroom."

"No, Chris. We'll be fine here. Is just for tonight." Phoebe began to protest.

"No way. I stay here. You two stay in my room." Then using his best smile and the all the charm he had, he turned to his aunt. "Please, Aunt Phoebe. I insist. Do it. For me."

"Alright." Then, she turned to her older sister. "Piper, I'm gonna kill your husband for teaching these tricks to your sons and to let them inherit such beautiful eyes."

Piper and Paige laughed and the youngest sister orbed some of the stuffs to Chris's room. Piper and Phoebe left the attic holding each other's arm, leaving Chris and Prue behind.

"So, how are you feeling?" Chris asked worried.

"I'm fine, I guess." Prue sighed. "At least I didn't have to tell her anything. He did his dirty job."

"Don't talk about your father like that. You know you don't mean it."

"I know. It's just. She's suffering so much. I don't need to be an empath to know that. They both are. Sometimes I think this is all my fault."

"Prue, don't be silly. This is your parents' problem. You have nothing to do with it." Chris reassured her.

"But I have, Chris. You see, daddy started to, I don't know, feel uncomfortable with our witch way of life after I started going to the vanquishes officially."

The two young Halliwell smiled at the comment. No one of the adults knew that Chris and Wyatt used to take Prue to vanquishes without tell them. She knew pretty much how to defend herself, but her parents were over-protective, just like the rest of the family, in fact.

They talked for a little more, until Prue started showing signs of tiredness.

"Go to sleep or aunt Phoebe will be chasing us soon." They hugged and Prue ruffled her cousin's fluffy hair and after saying good night, left the attic.

Chris orbed his pajamas and his stuff to him and headed to Wyatt's room, to take a shower.

When Chris came back to the attic, he found the bed ready and a glass of milk waiting for him, courtesy of his mom, he was sure. He went down quickly to kiss his parents goodnight and went to bed. After the events of that night, seeing that things ended up better than he expected, and the pleasant evening he had before, he was sure he'd finally have a good night of sleep. But as soon as he fell asleep, he discovered he was wrong. The image of his father pointing a sword to his throat was the first to haunt his dreams that night.

Tbc.

Next: The nightmares are back and the boys are gonna look for help, only to discover that it may be where they least expected.


	10. Chapter 10

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A/N: Hi, I am back! And with a longer new chapter. I know some people were worried about that Alex's storyline. I couldn't make him cheat on Phoebe, so I figured out that trying to make her abandon her call would be a good idea. Hope you liked it.

This fic is finally heading to its end, and the nightmare's subject is back on this chapter.

Thank you all who reviewed. Please, keep them coming. They are my addiction (together with Drew, of course) and they are actually a great toll to a writer since it helps to decide what lead to follow with the story. I'd like to remind you that English is not my native language, so please, forgive me with my spell and grammar mistakes, specially regarding verbs.

Thanks to all of you who are still following this story. This chapter is dedicated to you.

Enjoy!

Chapter 10

One week later

"I think I got it!" Wyatt said while he stormed into his baby brother's room.

"You got what, Wy?" Chris asked, annoyed by his brother sudden noisy entrance.

"I know how to get into the dreams, to understand what they are about." He explained smiling proudly of himself.

Chris sighed. "Wyatt, I thought we decided to let it rest. The nightmares eased, they're not as frequent as they used to be..."

"Yeah, but we still don't know what caused them or what they mean."

"So what if they mean nothing?" Chris tried to finish the argument. The nightmares may not be as frequent as they used to be, but they were still there, and they still affected him, each one of them bringing a different feeling: rage, remorse, pain, guilt, sadness. Chris was becoming used to them, so his family thought they stopped. But Wyatt knew better. The nightmare Wyatt and Chris shared, the one where Chris was brutally stabbed kept happening to both. It was like Chris was reliving that, day after day.

"Do you really believe that?" Wyatt's voice brought Chris back from his thoughts. No, he didn't. But he didn't want to share his fears. He was just trying to hide it in some forgotten corner of his mind, so even that uneasiness he was feeling around his brother would disappear. At least, he hoped.

"So, what's your great idea?" Chris tried to look interested.

Wyatt looked really excited and opened a book in front of his baby brother.

"See, there's this small line of witches with a very interesting power," he explained, while pointing to an entry in the book, "they can see through somebody's dreams and can even get into them. It's not a fighting power; it's more like Aunt Phoebe's empath power. Something they use to help people. One of these witches can help us."

"And how we're gonna find one? It says there are really few out there."

"We're gonna scry. It says that we have to cast a spell on a quartz and it'll guide us to one."

Chris saw there was no way he could take the idea out of his brother's mind so he simply nodded.

"Great." The First Progeny was really excited. He was sure they were going to put an end on the nightmares once and for all. Chris may be fooling their family that he was okay now, but Wyatt knew it was not true. He knew it was eating Chris inside. And he absolute knew that there was more than what Chris had confided him.

&&

The following morning, a Sunday morning, Wyatt set the map in the sunroom and started using the quartz he casted the spell in.

His mother stopped by the doorway and stayed there observing him for a while until Chris passed by her, greeting.

"Hey, mom." Chris placed a kiss on her forehead and headed to sit on a large chair.

Wyatt then raised his head finally noticing Piper's presence.

"Hi, mom. Didn't see you were here."

"I know." Piper smiled. "What are you scrying for?"

"Nothing." Wyatt's attention was back in the map.

"Nothing?" The oldest Charmed One frowned.

"Yeah, nothing serious. It's more like a gift?" Wyatt whispered, pretending that he didn't want Chris to hear.

Chris, who was sitting near by, prayed his mother would accept that empty explanation. He didn't want her to worry.

"I see." Her smile grew wider. "Good luck, then." Piper turned to leave the room, and walked to the living room, where she found her baby sister surrounded by papers.

"Grading again, Paige?"

"Oh yeah. Just as usual."

"You know, sometimes I think you put too much pressure on this kids."

"But Piper, being a witch is a big responsibility. They have to be prepared."

"Yeah, tell me about it."

Piper sat by her sister's side and took one of the papers to read.

"Here's a very good spell."

Paige looked at the paper Piper was holding.

"Kelly is a talented kid. Great with writing spells, but still insecure when she actually has to cast them."

Piper left her sister working and headed to the kitchen to start preparing lunch but her mind was on her boys. She knew Wyatt lied to her and she was sure Chris knew what his brother was hiding. She felt that odd feeling in the gut and sat for a moment taking slow breaths.

After calming herself, Piper looked around putting her worries to rest for now. She decided what she was going to cook for lunch and came back to the sunroom to look for her favorite 'chef assistant'.

"Chris, can you..." but when she arrived the boys were nowhere to be found.

&&

The two brothers appeared in what looked like a park, or at least a large garden.

"Where are we?" Wyatt asked, not really expecting an answer.

Chris, looking at his surroundings, held his breath for a moment, what called his brother's attention.

"What?" The oldest man asked.

"I think I know where we are." Chris looked around again. "Man, this can't be good."

"What can't be good, Chris? Speak up!"

"We are in an institution. A mental institution." The youngest Halliwell explained, still looking around as if he was looking for someone.

"So this is good. Maybe out witch is here helping someone, right?" but Chris didn't answer. Wyatt ignoring his baby brother's silence continued. "The quartz is pointing in that direction. We are close." Wyatt started walking but Chris didn't move.

Turning to look at his brother, Wyatt said.

"C'mon, Chris. Let's go!"

"Wy, I really don't think this is a good idea." Chris wondered if his instincts were right or he was just afraid of what he'd have to face. It couldn't be her or he would know, right? She didn't have that power, right?

What didn't look exactly like a good idea to Chris at first quickly sounding like a very bad one and if Chris' suspicious were right, he doubt they'd get any help.

But maybe he was wrong. There were a hundred of witches in San Francisco. But that voice in the back of his head kept telling him that he was about to regret. A lot of things.

Wyatt kept walking, following the quartz' 'signal' and Chris had to speed to catch him.

The young witchlighter stopped on his tracks when he saw her. She was a little distant but Chris was sure it was her. And Wyatt was walking in her direction, apparently he didn't recognize the person.

When Wyatt was close enough to recognize the girl he was about to approach he understood his brother's hesitation. He, however, kept walking into the girl's direction. He knew her. He knew she would help them, despite everything. She was a good person. She wouldn't let old feelings; old resentments stay on the way.

Suddenly Wyatt felt a heavy hand on his shoulder, followed by a deep angry voice.

"Stay away from my daughter, Halliwell. Both of you."

Wyatt turned to face the man and resisted the instinct of sending him flying with his telekinesis. Wyatt hated being caught off guard. But he knew it was a better idea, and his parent would give him a long lecture if he did that. The man in front of him was as tall as Wyatt, with large frame and deep brown eyes. The blue eyed young man managed a weak smile.

"Mr. Atkins. How are you? See, we were looking for..."

"I don't care what are you looking for, Wyatt. All I care is that your brother stay away from my daughter."

While the two men were talking, Chris kept walking to the girl's direction as if he couldn't control his legs.

"You can tap into someone else's dreams?" He found himself asking the girl, who was sitting with her back to him. She was facing a woman around Piper's age, who stood there, catatonic.

"Why do you wanna know?" she asked back without looking at him.

"Wyatt thought a witch with this power could help us. I didn't know you have this power."

Chris stopped sensing an old feeling trying to wake up. He tried to concentrate but was cut off by her voice.

"Don't try. The bond was broken a long ago."

"How is she?" Chris asked, sitting by the girl's side.

"The same," then, finally turning to face him she added, "I thought you could do pretty well without me," her eyes meeting his.

"Hope, I am sorry."

Chris reached to touch her light brown eyes, but she stopped him.

"Don't."

Her voice was low and soft just like he remembered, her hazel eyes filled with even more sadness than they used to. Chris was about to say something. But he was interrupted.

"Christopher Halliwell, I..."

"That's okay, dad." Hope Atkins rose from her seat by Chris' side. "They are already leaving. See, they thought I could help them, but since I don't use my powers anymore, I am of no use."

Two pairs of eyebrows raised at the same time. The two Halliwell brothers were startled at her statement.

"Are you sure?" Kyan Atkins was worried about his only daughter. What happened to Hope in the past was still clear in his memory and having Chris Halliwell around was not the best thing for her, he knew it.

"We need to go now. Sorry for bothering you." Wyatt said, and pulled his brother by his arm, orbing back to the manor.

Tbc


	11. Chapter 11

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A/N: Hey! How are you all? This is the biggest chapter I've ever written. I guess I should thank this odd feeling of sadness that I've been feeling lately. This chapter is has lots of emotional moments, I hope you like it.

To charmedsisters: No, I don't planning on writing about a new Power of Three, sorry. This may be explored in other fic. One idea that I am really fond of is related to the _Charmed Progeny_, developed by cyndrarae on her fic _Destiny Still Awaits (story id # 1877730 here at ) and I even borrowed it and mentioned it in a previous chapter._

Feedback: Please, I love to receive that sweet Review Alert on my e-mail. If you want to write me, you can do it at velumota (a) yahoo [dot] com [dot] br.

Thank you so much all of you who reviewed so far, and thank you who is still going to review. I love you all.

Well, that's it.

__

I'm sorry that I hurt you  
It's something I must live with everyday  
And all the pain I put you through  
I wish that I could take it all away  
And be the one who catches all your tears  
That's why I need you to hear

(The Reason – Hoobastank)

Wyatt and Chris orbed to the oldest brother's room, in order to avoid their parents possibly questions. Wyatt jumped into his bed and laid there while Chris sat on the floor staring absently at the wall. They stayed that way for a while, Wyatt thinking of a way to bring back the subject and Chris wanting desperately to avoid it. Finally Wyatt spoke.

"I think we'll have to find another way. After all these years, I'd suppose someone could forgive and forget."

"We won't look for another way. I told you it was a bad idea." Chris muttered.

"Did you know she had that power?"

"No." The boy shook his head. "I think I'll talk to mom."

"About the nightmares?" Wyatt looked surprised. "She's gonna freak out, I'm sure. And besides I think we can handle this, Chris."

"You think so? And why we had no success until now?"

"We were almost succeeded, if the witch we need wasn't your ex-girlfriend, the one you dumped years ago." Wyatt turned to look at his brother, who was still sitting on the floor. "I guess it was everybody's fault, you know."

Chris shot him a curious look.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, everybody, me included, kept saying that you two were perfect to each other, that you were meant to be because of all the coincidences and all. But in the end it wasn't true. And sadly she was the one who left this story hurt."

Chris didn't answer. Instead, he kept staring at the wall more intently.

"What, Chris?" Wyatt noticed that there was something wrong with his brother. He thought he knew what it was, but it couldn't be, or at least he thought it couldn't be.

"I guess maybe you were right, after all."

Wyatt slipped from his bed and sat on the floor with his baby brother. Had he just listened to what he thought he did?

"You don't mean?"

"It was all there. The moment I saw her I felt it." Chris sighed. "I know there's no coming back now." His eyes moved from the wall to the floor, and he started drawing circles with his right foot.

"Chris, honestly I don't understand, man. You dumped her, you said you needed space, you wanted to know other people. You said that you didn't believe you were meant to be. You pissed off the whole family, if I remember well." Wyatt was staring at his brother in disbelief. Chris had all he always wanted, someone who always loved and trusted him no matter what, and he just threw it away. Now, five years later he was telling him that maybe he was wrong?

"Wyatt, you'll never understand."

"You're right, I won't."

Chris, ignoring his brother's statement, continued.

"We grew up together, Hope and I. we'd been close since I can remember. And we started dating as soon as our parent allowed us. Even grandma and greatgrams got exited when they heard the news. It was. I don't know. Anyway, I saw you going out, meeting people, enjoying life – not that I was not enjoying life with her, but – and I wanted to live that, too. I wanted to live other experiences. I wanted to have the freedom you have."

"And all that time I was envying you, kiddo." The oldest brother mumbled.

"So, when I started college I thought it would be the moment. Today as the first time I saw her since we broke up, five years ago."

"That's because she worked hard to avoid you. Did you know that she cast a spell on herself so you wouldn't see her if you pass by her?" Wyatt was angry, and Chris noticed.

"How do you know that?"

"Because I helped her. I saw how she was suffering, Chris. You're the only person she knew."

The young witchlighter caught something in his brother's voice and looked at him. Wyatt didn't avoid his stare; instead he looked right into his brother's eyes.

"You love her?"

"I used to," Wyatt admitted, "but I couldn't compete with you, with what she feels so I just accepted the role of her friend. But then she noticed what I was feeling and decided it would be better if we don't see each other anymore. Now what I feel about her is a different kind of love, more like a friend's love or even a brother's love." Wyatt paused. "And that's why I can't believe you're saying this, that maybe you were wrong. Damn it Chris, of course you were wrong. You were the only one who didn't see it because you were blinded by your teenage hormones." Wyatt closed his eyes, he didn't mean that outburst but when he saw what he was doing it was too late.

"Hope said our bond was broken. I did that. I can still remember how we knew exactly how the other was feeling, and sometimes we could even communicate without words, just with telepathy."

Wyatt smiled fondly at something he just remembered.

"You two even shared your powers once in a while. Remember one time when she was pissed with her father because he didn't let her go to New York with us to visit grandpa and she accidentally tapped into your power and blew a vase?"

Chris followed his brother's smile.

"Yeah, it was fun to hear what the teachers were thinking while we were doing a test. You'd thought they were paying attention to the class, but their minds were almost always somewhere else."

"If they were centered, you wouldn't be able to read their minds." Wyatt stated.

"That's true."

"Wyatt?" Chris called his brother who seemed to be now lost in his own high school memories.

"What?"

"Do you still love her?" Wyatt lifted his eyebrows under the question.

"No, at least not in the way you're asking me. But I still would like her to be my sister-in-law someday."

"Wyatt?"

"What Chris?" Wyatt was getting annoyed. Chris always managed to annoy him not going straight to the point. But it didn't last long; the older witchlighter knew it. He loved his brother no matter what.

"Do you think I still have a chance?"

Wyatt sighed heavily. He knew his brother was going to ask him that.

"With her? Honestly, little bro, I don't know."

&&&

Later that night, Hope Atkins was tossing and turning on her bed. She was trying to sleep but every time she fell sleep her mind begun racing with images and memories, and she kept listening to a voice inside her head. She knew he wasn't doing that intentionally. He was the one who chose that way nonetheless. The young witch opened up her eyes and waited until they got used to the darkness. Her thoughts were out of control, now. Her heart was beating fast and she felt the need to cry, but she fought against it. She had cried enough already. She finally turned on the light on her nightstand. Hope looked at the pile of boxes on the floor. Soon San Francisco would become a place to visit to her, instead of her hometown. It was about time for her to give a new direction to her life. The first step would be bounding her powers and she and her father agreed to do that on her birthday, it was going to her gift, since she wanted it so much.

Her birthday. Chris' birthday too, something inside her remembered. Shit, she swears, why everything in her life had to be related to him? He was minutes older than she was. And in a way he was the reason her mother was in that state. All Hope knew was that in his quest to vanquish the Charmed Ones, Barbas had tapped into Angela Atkins' fragile mind, tired from the difficult delivery, and used her powers of reliving other people's dreams to feed her fears. Angela didn't die, but the damage in her mind was so that she was locked inside her mind since then.

In order to protect his daughter from Barbas, Kyan Atkins casted a spell on his child, so the demon of fear would never touch her and do to her what he did to his beloved wife. And because of the spell, Wyatt found a very appropriate nickname to her: Fearless. She was prudent, but she feared nothing and that made her a great company for the boys.

Hope turned on her bed, again. Why every single thought about her life had to be linked to his? There was a time when she believed they were meant to be. Everybody thought so. Hope had suspicious that even the Elders shared that opinion. Well, they were wrong. She was now about to move to Los Angeles and she hoped she'd never seen him again. What an end for two kids who were supposedly meant to live a fairy tale with a happy ending.

Hope wanted to sleep. She wanted to dream and try to reach her mother. That was the only way they could talk, when one reached the other's dreams. That soon was going to end. When Hope bind her powers, she won't be able to reach for her mother again. She'll have to depend on her mother reaching for her and she knew how her mother was weak. The girl closed her eyes but the voice kept coming. She covered her ears with her pillows but she knew it was useless. Instinctively, she waved her hand and shocked she heard the lampshade hitting the floor.

__

Damn it, Chris. Why did are you trying to rebuild that bond?

&&&

The next day, Chris was in class looking anxiously at his watch. Something was telling him to come back home, and he usually listens to his instincts. Even if he wasn't feeling that way, there was no way he could pay attention to the teacher in front of him. Last night's dreams were different from what he was just getting used. He dreamt again with a fight and his mother kicking him out of the house (and who was that guy by her side? He seemed very close to her yet he never saw him before.) Everybody was pissed with him, no exception there, and Wyatt was nowhere to be seen, his adult brother or the infant version of him he kept dreaming with. Then the _usual _began. The one that repeated every night since Chris dreamt about it for the first time. The one he shared with his brother somehow. But this time, the moment he was about to be stabbed, the scenario changed and he was back to his past, to his childhood, to his teenage years. And he saw Hope in these dreams. Chris saw her beautiful yet sad face, her shy smile that only the close ones knew, her sweetness and smartness.

When the class finished he decided not to stay for the next one. He was heading to the main entrance when he felt someone holding his arm. He stopped in his tracks and turned, only to find a pair of bright blue eyes staring at him.

"Oh, hi Erin."

"Hi, Chris. Escaping next class?"

"Actually, I am not feeling very well so I am going home."

"Oh. Do you want me to go with you?" She smiled and blinked to him, and he suddenly felt bad.

"No, thanks." The young Halliwell looked around, uncomfortable.

"You know, I had great time the other day. We should repeat it sometime."

That was it. Chris couldn't go with that. His mind was racing, two days ago he was pretty sure he'd inviting her to go out again, she was a cool pretty girl, anyway. But right now his mind (and his heart?) was with someone else. He looked at her in silence trying to find the better way to say what he was thinking.

"Listen, I don't think I can. Something come up, you know." The witchlighter's hands were running nervously through his silky light brown hair.

"New girl?" She asked incredulous.

"Old one, in fact." Chris answered with all honesty.

"I see." She looked at him smiling. "Well, I hope it turns out okay. As I said I had a great time but it wasn't like we were engaged or something." Then after a beat, she added. "Good luck."

"Thanks." Chris sighed relieved.

&&&

When Chris arrived home, he found Wyatt there in the living room, watching TV.

"You don't seem too fond of working lately, you know that?" Chris teased, sitting by his brother's side.

"And you, my geek brother don't seem too fond of studying, either." Wyatt teased back.

The two Halliwell stood there in silence, each one lost in his own thoughts. Wyatt was trying to figure out another way to understand the nightmares, one way that wouldn't need him casting a spell, since he didn't want to risk breaking the stupid personal gain rule.

They were startled when they heard the doorbell ring.

Chris headed to the door and wasn't totally surprised to find the person standing in front of him.

"What do you need me for?" Hope asked, without facing her ex-boyfriend.

&&&

After letting Hope in, Chris, Wyatt and her headed to the kitchen. They never understood that, but it always seemed like a good place to talk. The girl was sitting next to the table while the two boys were resting against the counter. Chris was staring at her and Wyatt looked a little uncomfortable, while the young witch looked at nowhere specific. She was however paying attention at every single word the Halliwell brothers were saying. Wyatt started explaining the facts, with Chris adding one detail or another here and there. Chris figured out it would be easier if Wyatt explained the whole nightmare thing. But he had to explain that the one he shared with his brother was not the only nightmare he had, but that there were others, all of them involving someone of the family.

"And you want me to go inside your nightmares and figure out why they're happening and what do they mean?" She finally asked, the question addressed to Chris, but her eyes were fixed on a detail on the wall.

"Actually," Wyatt begun, "we were expecting you to take us with you inside Chris' nightmares."

"What?" She looked at her old friend in disbelieve. There was no danger in looking at Wyatt, she trusted him. "This is nuts, Wyatt. Not to say, dangerous." She then turned to Chris, crying abruptly. "STOP IT!" And placed both her hands on her head, shutting her eyes.

"Sorry." Chris managed to say taking a step closer to the girl.

"I'll be in the attic if you need me," Wyatt started to say and orbed out before anyone could stop him.

After a moment that seemed like an eternity to Chris, Hope finally raised her head and looked at him.

"Listen, I will help you, okay. It'll be the last time I'll use this power." She breathed tiredly. "Now, please, stop trying to reach my mind. Stop trying to read me. Please."

Chris bent in front of her, who was now avoiding looking at him again.

"You felt it, didn't you? You felt it, too. I know. It is still there. I..."

"Chris, stop it or I'll change my mind and won't help you anymore." Then, after a beat she added. "I don't know how or why this link happened again. But it doesn't mean anything. Or maybe it just means that I have to help you and that's what I intend to do." She raised from her seat and turned to leave the kitchen but his hand help her delicate pale arm, bringing old feelings back and causing her to freeze on her spot.

"I. I love you." Chris finally said, almost in a whisper.

The telepath held her breath for a second, her mind racing and her heart about to explode. Controlling herself, she managed to free her arm from his grasp and walked out of the kitchen, without looking back, and climbed the manor's stairs, following the too familiar way to the attic.

Tbc.


	12. Chapter 12

****

A/N: Thank you all who reviewed. Please, keep reviewing and telling me what you think. There are only two chapters left, and I hope you enjoy this one.

Chapter 12

Hope was climbing the stairs when she felt a hand grabbing her arm gently and in a beat blue and white lights involved her. The next thing she knew she was in the attic. Chris had orbed her there.

Wyatt, who was placing crystals in a circle in the middle of the attic, looked up to see the newcomers. He could feel the atmosphere between them and decided to go straight to their subject.

"See, since we'll be in fact inside Chris' mind, I figured we needed some kind of barrier, or forcefield, to protect us.

"You already have a forcefield." Chris said.

"I know, but I thought it would be better if we have an extra help." Wyatt explained.

"Well, I still don't like the idea of you getting inside my mind. I say you stay here guarding us."

"No way, Christopher. I wanna help you, bro."

"To me sounds more like you want an excuse to invade my privacy."

"Okay, enough already." Hope spoke for the first time since their arrival in the attic. Why she always had to play the peacemaker when the two decided to argue?

"Wyatt, this forcefield will protect us, right?"

The old brother nodded.

The girl placed her fingers on her forehead and sighed heavily.

"Okay, remind me why I'm going to take part of this."

"Because you love us?" Wyatt tried to light the mood, and smiled sheepishly.

Hope dismissed Wyatt's comment with a shrug and walked around the circle he was forming with the crystals.

"This is really dangerous. One thing is entering somebody's mind, somebody's dreams. Other is taking this person with you to watch his own dreams and nightmares. And another, completely different and that I never did before, is taking a third person in someone else's mind. It can have consequences."

"We'll take the risk." Wyatt said, confidently.

"Easy to say, it's not your intimacy that is about to be broken." Chris pointed to his big brother.

"Actually, it may be more dangerous to Wyatt." Hope stated, still walking around the attic. Whatever is going on in your mind, in your dreams, your conscience is already used to it, since you told me it's been happening for some time now. Somehow you created a defense mechanism inside you. But everything will be new to Wyatt, terrifying even. I don't know how he will react to this."

"I can handle it." Wyatt said, matter of factly.

"Of course, you're the twice blessed." Chris spat.

"Can you two explain me why you're acting like this all of a sudden?"

"It's just normal."

"It's the way we are. You know that."

"You were always like this. I'd thought you'd grow up. Guess I was wrong." She sighed and took a sit on the old sofa.

"What do we do now?" Wyatt asked, sitting by her side.

"I am just waiting for you two to calm down." She answered.

"We are calm." Chris said.

"Yeah."

She shot a 'why I don't believe you' look at them but she knew they were okay. They always acted like that before, and after, a big adventure.

"Okay, so let's start."

The three of them walked inside the circle; then, Wyatt put the last crystal, and an energy field surrounded them.

"Now what?" Chris asked impatiently.

Wyatt shot him a look as if telling him to shut up then turned to Hope, who was thinking about the best way to accomplish their goal.

The circle Wyatt had built was large enough so they could sit or lay down if they preferred. Hope Atkins motioned to sit on the ground and gestured to they boys to do the same. The two Halliwell boys lay down, having the girl in the middle. She hold their hands, told them to close their eyes and relax.

Soon, Chris and Wyatt begun feeling a tiredness that could only be explained by magic. Chris tried to fight it at first, suddenly afraid of what would happen but then he just relaxed. It was for the best, he tried to reassure himself.

Chris didn't know how long he stayed in that position, incapable of opening his eyes, and listening to nothing but his own breath. Suddenly he found himself in a dark room. Looking around he could barely see that his brother and Hope were by his side.

"Where are we?" He asked in a whisper.

But Hope didn't answer. She was focusing in a point in front of them. Slowly, the first image begun to form in front of the three young witches.

"As soon as the image effectively forms we'll be able to manipulate it." Hope explained to the boys who simply nodded in response. It looked like Chris, or rather his mind, wasn't sure about what image to pick. There were lots of mosaics dancing in front of them. But suddenly there it was, a clear image in front of them, just like a movie. The Halliwell brothers' eyes grew wide at the vision of a pregnant Piper, talking to an adult Chris, the same Chris who was standing beside them right then.

"It's not possible." Chris mumbled, and hope looked in his direction, her head slightly bending to the side.

They see that Piper is telling, or rather trying to tell something to Chris, who just ignores her and climbs the manor's stairs in hurry.

"Can you re play this scene?" Wyatt asked.

Hope waved her hand but nothing happened. She tried again, but instead of the scene returning to where it was, it seemed to fast forward and they saw Chris playing in the sunroom with Wyatt, a baby Wyatt.

"Wy, he can't be you. It's impossible." Chris turns to his big brother, confusion written in his face.

The scenes kept changing in front of them, until the moment they found themselves inside a cave. Chris closed his eyes, he knew what was going to happen next, and he really didn't want his brother as a witness. Wyatt flinched instinctively as he saw his brother hitting his father. By then, with their hands free from each other, Chris motioned to enter the scene for the first time. Wyatt, a little insecure, followed him but Hope stayed where she was, just watching. The two young men tried to touch the two men fighting, in a weird attempt to stop the fight, but their hands just pass through them. It was just a creation of Chris's mind, after all. They weren't real. The scenes kept changing faster by the minute. Wyatt stopped, eyes and mouth wide opened as he saw his family passing by him, scenes of them accusing Chris, arguing with him, and then coming after him. Wyatt saw his little brother save his baby self from a demonic cult, he saw scenes that didn't make any sense. How could his brother be dreaming with all of that? Anyway, he could understand why Chris was having a hard time. How could he explain to their parents that he had nightmares where his mother would tell him that she didn't want to see him anymore, or that his father said to him that he betrayed him, or ...

They tried several times to stop the scenes with no success. Chris was about to turn to his ex-girlfriend when their surroundings changed once more. He knew the scenes he was watching were out of order, dreams never had a right order to happen. He'd seen a dream that he had just the day before, and then the very first nightmare just appeared in front of them. In one Piper would be like seven months pregnant, on the following it would be not more than four months. One thing was sure; she was pregnant in all scenes she appeared. Chris thought that maybe these dreams were actually related to his mother somehow; maybe related to the period she was pregnant with him, maybe she was channeling her somehow. But why they were coming now? He needed to know. He turned to Hope to ask her about that when he noticed her eyes turning blank for a second. She came back to her normal self quickly but he noticed the change. When he turned back, he understood her reaction. They seemed to be standing in the middle of the tribunal; the Chris in front of them was wearing an orange T-shirt that Hope thought it was kinda funny. She was almost smiling until she saw Barbas right there. Then she froze. She knew about the trial. The Charmed Ones told her and their kids about what had happened twenty years before. It was during that trial that Phoebe lost her powers and stood that way for a while. She knew it happened. She knew Barbas was there. And she knew that not longer after that, he had reached to her mother. The room seemed to spin violently as they appeared in the attic. Chris and Wyatt instinctively backed off. They knew what was about to happen. They saw the scared little Wyatt in the playpen. They saw the worried Chris searching through the Book of Shadows. They heard the sound of someone walking in the attic. And they saw a man uncloaking himself, probably from an invisible shield, and walking to baby Wyatt's direction. Suddenly everything became slow motion. The three watched the development of the attack. They had never seen that man before. They had never heard of him, they were sure of it. Maybe, Wyatt thought, he was a threat that was going to attack them and his brother's nightmares were something like his aunt's premonitions, just more bizarre. But he knew better than that. There was something really wrong with all that pictures. The moment the man stabbed the Chris from the scene, in the gut, Hope bent down in pain. She didn't let the guys touch her. Her eyes were fixed on the scene in front of them. The Chris from the dream called for Leo, and he appeared almost immediately. Then the room spin again and they were in Piper's room. By this time Hope already knew what was going on. It was all crystal clear for her. She was ready to come back to reality. She felt she had the answers. She could still feel the pain from the stab but it didn't matter. When she looked up, she found Wyatt with tears in his eyes and Chris on his knees; in front of them a crying Leo was holding a dead Chris, who suddenly faded away.

&&&

Leo entered the manor and immediately felt that something was off. He saw Chris' and Wyatt's cars parked but he didn't give it a second thought. But the atmosphere in the house was different. Piper, who was entering right after him, seemed to feel the same. She stopped on her tracks and asked, panic growing in her voice.

"Leo, where's the boys?"

The whitelighter closed his eyes for a moment and quickly sensed his sons, orbing right after them.

"Right, leave it to Leo to orb without answering me". Piper placed her purse on the couch and begun heading to the attic. She didn't need whitelighter sense to find her sons. Her mother's instinct was clear and clever enough.

Leo orbed in the attic and found the three young people laying on the ground. He shot one of the crystals that was creating the magical barrier. He imagined that Wyatt had put that shield so he was sure it wasn't going to hurt him, after all, Wyatt knew how to manage magic very well and so did Chris.

At the exact moment Leo was putting down the shield, Hope woke up and stand up, catching her breath, her eyes filled with sadness and pain.

She turned to the two young men who were sitting on the floor, drained and overwhelmed by their trip and said with a faint voice.

"These weren't dreams. They were memories."

And feeling the tears beginning to flow she turned again and rushed through the attic door, almost knocking Piper on her way.

Tbc.


	13. Chapter 13

****

A/N: Lotamoxie, you're right. Sorry. But since Charmed writers are kings of contrivance, I'll borrow some from them and pretend that when the events of Prince Charmed and The Legend of Sleepy Halliwell took place, Piper was already pregnant, she just didn't know. Luckily I didn't mention the Ghostly Plane and Chris fading away, so I think we can pretend harmlessly.

Chapter 13

The words Hope said to the boys shocked Leo. He looked to his sons and saw the confusion they were in. So the dreams really were related to what he and Piper thought. That was the only explanation. He looked to Piper and saw that so familiar sweet look in her face. It was like she was telling him that she was there for him. Leo sighed and looked at his sons again. By then the two Halliwell boys were up and looking to their parents, expectantly.

"So, what just happened here?" Piper asked, tired of the silence in the room.

"I think you are the ones who need to give us explanations." Chris said in return.

The family went to the living room. Chris gave their parents a brief explanation of what they did and what they saw. Leo was speechless, all the memories, the memories he had been suppressing in a hidden corner of his mind, coming full force. The scene of Chris dying playing again in his mind, together with the memory of him killing Gideon. Gideon, the man who he trusted so much. The man who he once looked up to. The man who tried to kill his older son and who did murdered his younger son with no reason, a young man who did nothing but tried to save his brother and the future. Piper went to call Phoebe and Leo orbed to Magic School to pick Paige. If they were going to explain everything that happened in the past, it was better if they were all there.

When the whole family was finally there, Paige, with her teacher style, begun to tell the story, the Chris Halliwell tale, as she put. There they were, the two brothers, Prue, and Vincent, who already knew the story. Paige told it to him years ago, right after Chris' fourteenth birthday, when they were expecting an attack that could victimize Piper. The attack really came; a group of Phoenixes attacked them but were defeated. That was the day Bianca's mother was killed.

Nobody was saying a word while Paige continued her story. She smiled at the memories of Chris annoying them to death, sending them on demon hunt, but not wanting to reveal who he really was, how Leo became Elder in the first place, the funny memories and the sad memories. To Piper's relief, she didn't mention that Wyatt had sent an assassin, Bianca, to take him back to their time. Piper didn't want Chris to know that the Phoenix that was trying to kill then was his fiancée in an alternate timeline.

Wyatt shifted uncomfortable on his seat. It was hard to believe, even accept, that he was supposed to be evil. That he was supposed to ruin people's lives. That an alternate version of him made his brother's life so miserable that he found no other way to change him then going to the past and try to save his older brother, even without the knowledge of what he had to fight.

Chris was shocked. How could their parents hide that from him? From them. He and Wyatt deserved to know. He had his elbows resting on his knees, his face buried on his hands. Breathing was hard and a feeling of panic was beginning to grow in him as Paige continued with the story. Piper was silent observing her sons. Prue's jaw dropped open and she didn't care to close it. It was really hard for her to believe in all that. As for Phoebe, she was having a hard time with her empath powers. Despite the empath blocking potions, the memories were so painful that everybody's feelings were bypassing the magic.

Leo, who wasn't able to face his family, and mainly Chris, was standing in the doorway, looking distracted. His arms were folded on his chest and he was doing his best to block Paige's words. When her narrative came to the day when Chris was supposed to come back to his future, Leo could not handle anymore and orbed away. The sound of orbs made Chris look up. Piper got up from her seat and placed herself between her two sons, who were sitting in chairs one by the other's side. She felt old. The whole family tried to bury all these events. The other Chris gave them a chance of creating a better future and they succeeded. The two boys were happy, healthy and, most important, good. She was alive. Everybody was alive there. They were a big happy family, as they deserved. They kept fighting evil and winning. From all Halliwell generations, she was certain that their generation was the happiest one. The eldest Halliwell sister placed a hand on her oldest son and stroked her youngest son's hair.

"Mom", Chris turned to her, "where did dad go?"

"This is too painful for him, sweetie." She paused and looked into his beautiful green eyes. "I think you should go after him. He needs to tell you this part of the story. I'm sure it'll be the best for both of you."

Chris nodded and sensing his father, orbed after him.

"Now, Paige, would you please finish telling this to Prue and Wyatt?"

Paige smiled at her big sister and continued.

&&&

Chris found his father at the top of the Golden Gate Bridge, his favorite spot to think. The sadness reflected in his father's face broke Chris' heart. He approached him in silence, and sat down by his old man's side.

"Mom thought it'd better if I hear the rest of the story from you."

Leo didn't look at his son. He knew what Piper was trying to do. Maybe she was right. Maybe doing this he'd get rid of his ghosts.

Leo told Chris what happened to him, or with that version of him, in his birthday. How Gideon, with Barbas' help, fooled him. How the Headmaster of Magic School tried to kidnap baby Wyatt, how they saved him. Leo started telling Chris about how Gideon had attacked the boy and stabbed him, but his voice failed. Tears were running freely on the former Elder's face. He couldn't continue. But Chris continued it for him, his eyes too filled with tears. Chris told how Leo came as soon as he called him, how he tried hard to heal him with no success. How the pain overwhelmed him when Chris died.

Leo, wiping away his tears, finally looked at his son, astonished.

"How do you know that?"

"We saw it, dad. During our quest". Chris stare was lying on his hands, now. "Please, forgive me." The young man finally said, catching his father by surprise.

"Forgive you, for what?"

"For all I did to you. For all the pain I caused. I'm sorry."

"Chris, you didn't. Listen, son, I'm the one who needs to ask for forgiveness. I am the one who let you down. I am the one who couldn't save you. I am the one who's carrying this guilt for the last 23 years. You're the one who needs to forgive your old man." Leo placed a hand on his son's shoulder and squeezed it. "You're responsible for what we have today. I am so proud of you, Chris."

Chris smiled weakly. The two men hugged and after a moment of silence, decided to come back to the manor.

&&&

Meanwhile, at the manor, Paige had finished her tale with tears in her eyes as well. She had witnessed Chris's death; it was one of the worse moments of her life. She had faced depression after that and if she didn't have such a supportive family she didn't believe she'd survived. She had almost came back to her old drinking habits, but Phoebe, with Sam's help, gave her the love and support she needed.

"What I don't understand is why Chris begun having this nightmares about the past, and about what this alternate version of him lived." Prue voiced everybody's thought.

"Maybe it's just consequence of the whole time travel thing." Vincent tried to rationalize. "Or maybe, since this alternate Chris and our Chris co-existed for some time, even if our Chris was a fetus by then, they shared the memories and these memories were there, sleeping in Chris mind until now. I don't know."

"Chris as a fetus? Eww." Wyatt made a face of disgust, what made the others laugh.

"Why the eww, Wyatt?" Piper asked her son.

'Oh, mom, because it reminds me that you and dad, you know..." Wyatt felt his face burning and looked at his mother to see the fake angry look in her face. She slapped him on the head and turned to the kitchen.

"Since we kinda have a family reunion here, I think I'll prepare something for us to eat."

"Here, Aunt Piper. Let me help you." Prue said happily, heading to the kitchen with the oldest Charmed One.

Phoebe, who stayed in silence for most of the time, asked.

"Okay, now where are Chris and Leo?"

At that moment father and son orbed in the living room. Chris looked around, searching for his mother. Phoebe pointed to the kitchen and the boy went there. Leo ran to his oldest son and hugged him.

&&&

November 19, 2027.

All the Halliwell family was excited. It was Chris' 23rd birthday, a special day that they needed to celebrate. Twenty-three years ago the family was being introduced to the tiny version of him, and at the same time, being forced to say good bye to a grown up version of him, a version of him that made them know that he was going to grow up to do great things. They knew he was going to be a loving son, just probably a little neurotic. Although they planned to give him a different future, they knew that it was part of his personality and it would always be there. Other thing they were sure was that he was going to be stubborn and they would have to deal with that.

That morning, everybody was in the manor, excited. Once in a while Piper and Leo exchanged looks. They couldn't avoid the fear that something would happen, maybe an attack, and they'd end up losing Chris again. It was foolish, they knew, but they couldn't stop thinking about it.

Since the reunion when the truth was exposed, Wyatt had been silent. He was usually a talkative man, but he was having a hard time. He was trying to make peace with himself and for that Phoebe was helping him the best she could.

Paige was shining and Vincent was smiling widely. Piper was pushing them to say what happened to make them so happy. Paige was refusing because that was Chris' day and all attention should be on him. Chris gave her a shy smile; he didn't like that the whole attention was on him. It made him feel uncomfortable so he helped his mother push his Aunt Paige into telling them what was going on.

"Well, " Paige started, and Vincent held her hand. "It's kind of weird to talk about it, actually." She shot a look at her husband, who smiled to her, reassuringly. "You know how Vinnie and I have been trying to have kids since, well, since always, but..." her voice trailed of and Piper motioned to place herself by her baby sister's side, but Paige rose her hand, telling that she was okay. Sighing, she continued.

"Anyway, after all this time, we had just give up and we were planing on adopting a kid...'

"Oh sweetie, this is wonderful." Phoebe said, excited.

"Yeah, I know," Paige paused again. Then, looking from one member of the family to the other, she finally said. "But now I just found out. I'm pregnant."

Paige smiled on how she got her family by surprise. She was almost fifty, but she was magical, she was half whitelighter after all. She was sure everything would be just peachy. The laughs and joy filled the room. The Halliwell family was going to welcome a new member. Chris thanked that the attention was no longer on him, and after hugging his aunt and uncle, motioned to leave the room, but Wyatt stopped him.

"Where do you think you're going, little brother? This is still your day." Wyatt smiled and Chris smiled back. It looked like Wyatt was coming back to his normal self, too. Chris silently thanked his Aunt Phoebe for that.

&&&

Hope Atkins was placing a couple of boxes on the boot of her car. The sounds of orbs near her didn't make her stop what she was doing. She knew who the newcomer was.

"Hey."

"Hey." She answered, without turning to look.

"Would you mind?" Chris asked.

She closed the boot and turned to him.

"Happy birthday." He said, smiling, and gave her a small box.

"Thank you." She smiled back. Chris was surprised. There was a long time since he last saw her smiling. "I have something for you, too. I was going to leave it at P3 so you'd receive during your party." She opened the door on the driver's seat and picked up a small box, covered with a beautiful green wrapping paper that matched Chris' eyes and gave it to him.

"Thank you".

"Just open it later, okay?"

"Sure." And he put the little box on his back pocket. "Are you really moving?"

"Yes."

"You bound your powers." He said matter-of-factly.

She smiled again.

"I told you I was going to do that. It was my birthday's present from my father. I'm gonna start with a clean slate." She turned to pick some boxes and place them on the back seat and Chris hurried to help her.

"Here, let me give you a hand."

They worked placing the small boxes inside the car.

"So, did your family explained to you what was all that about? I mean, the nightmares?"

"Yes. But I guess you already know the explanation." He said, looking at her.

"I do. But I thought it would be better if the whole explanation came from them. They are your family. And they love you." She said, without looking at him but looking around, to be sure she was forgetting nothing.

"Are any more boxes in your home?"

"Nope." She said and finally turned to him.

"Chris." She whispered looking to a spot behind him.

The Halliwell witchlighter turned but before he could react he was hit and fell on the ground. Chris looked up to see the Phoenix, the one his mother called Bianca, standing in front of him, an athame shining on her hand. Chris moved and quickly was again on his feet. He pulled the blessed dagger he was carrying with him since the day she attacked the manor and stood in a defensive position.

"Hope, get out of here." He cried, and the girl cautiously started to step back but something inside her didn't let her continue. She thought about running and calling the other Halliwells, but she didn't move. She couldn't leave him alone.

As if she was stuck in a dream, she saw the Phoenix attacking Chris and with a well studied movement, she disarmed him. The blessed dagger was on the floor now and Chris was about to use his telekinesis to pick his weapon, but Bianca hit him again, and motioned to stab him with her athame. Hope, whose presence Bianca had forgotten, grab the Phoenix' arm and in return, Bianca stab the young powerless witch in the stomach. Chris looked horrified at the scene. Hope felt the pain running through her body, just like she did when she saw the scene in Chris mind, the one where he was stabbed.

Without even thinking, Chris called for his older brother.

Wyatt orbed immediately, Excalibur on his hand. He had felt his brother's desperation and was ready to orb to him when Chris called.

Bianca was not planing on attacking two Halliwells at the same time. She knew it would be suicide, and attempted to shimmer, but she discovered that she couldn't. The Halliwell known as the First Progeny looked at his brother who was now by their old friend's side. Then, turned his attention to the witch in front of him.

"I give you the chance. Try to attack me." He said in a cold, menacing voice. Bianca had planned to attack him last, she knew he was the strongest but now all her plans were useless. The Phoenix held her athame and moved to the wizard's side. Her hand was stopped inches from his chest. Bianca felt the cold blade of Excalibur entering her gut. It was almost a bless, she thought. She was feeling almost no pain. Wyatt pulled the sword from the witch and she fell on the ground. He flicked his hand and she turned into ashes immediately.

Wyatt turned to look at his brother, who was on his knees, holding Hope's limp body.

"C'mon, Chris. Let's take her to the Manor. We'll heal her there." He said to his brother, who looked desperate at him.

&&&

They orbed in the manor, and found the place empty. Everybody was probably at P3 finishing the last details for Chris' birthday party.

Wyatt called for his father, while Chris laid the girl on the couch.

"You'll be okay, you'll see. I promise." Chris was in verge of crying.

"Don't promise that." Her voice was weak, but she was still managing to smile. She wanted him to remember her smiling, not in pain.

"Just hold on, please. My dad will be here soon."

"Chris, that's okay. I just want you to promise me one thing." She said, and as wave of pain ran through her body, she closed her eyes.

"Don't talk like this. You're not gonna die." The tears were now unleashed. He couldn't hold them anymore. She was pale and her shining eyes were quickly losing their spark.

"Promise me you're gonna be happy. And you won't..." Her voice failed. Breathing was becoming difficult.

In that moment, Leo arrived, worried.

"What happened?"

Wyatt pointed to the couch and Leo could see his son on his knees by somebody's side. When the whitelighter turned to see the person, he was shocked.

Chris looked up and pleaded to his father.

"Dad, please, do something, quickly." The tears running through his son's face broke Leo's heart into pieces. On the corner of the room, Wyatt was having a hard time controlling himself as well.

Leo placed his hands over the wound, and a familiar glow begun to flow, but there was no progress. Turning to his son, Leo asked who did that.

Chris explained that it was the Phoenix that had attacked them a couple of weeks ago.

Sighing, Leo explained that she probably had used some kind of magic that would make whitelighter's healing more difficult.

"I think we'll have to use a potion. Wyatt?"

"I'll be working on it." And with that, Wyatt orbed out of the room, relieved that he'd have a chance to be alone.

Leo, then, turned to his youngest son.

"I'll go Up There and see what can I discover about that magic she used." Then, looking to the young girl, he added. "I'll be right back."

Leo kissed both Hope and Chris on the forehead and orbed.

"Chris, you have to promise." She tried again, her voice was a mere whisper.

"What?" He asked, not knowing what else to say.

"You won't blame yourself for this. Never."

"I promise." He answered, defeated.

She looked at him and smiled. That moment he knew she still loved him.

"Thanks. Now I can go."

"No. Please, no. Hold on just a little bit more." Chris cried.

"I love you, Christopher Halliwell."

And with that, she closed her eyes and Chris felt the hand that he was holding all the time losing his grip. She was gone.

****

A/n: So this is it. I hope you liked. There is only an epilogue to go and this story will be officially finished.

Now, what did you think? Please, let me know. I really appreciate. And thank you for reading this fic. That was a wonderful journey and I'm happy that some people enjoyed it as well.


	14. Epilogue

A/N: Here it is, finally! The epilogue! This id dedicated to **Bluley **and I hope she likes it. Sorry for taking so long to write and post it, but writer's block attacked again and although I was able to work on another project, that I'll start to post soon, by the way, I couldn't find my way through this. This is also for all of us who love and miss Chris.

Disclaimers: I said it once and I say it again, I don't own charmed. If I did, Chris would never die and we'd have plenty of storylines for him on the show.

Enjoy!

Epilogue

There we go again, Leo Wyatt thought, while he was standing before the High Council of Elders waiting for them to explain why exactly he was there. It was most probably some kind of problem, a new menace to magical society or something against the rules he or the Sisters did. It had been that way since he could barely remember.

Leo had heard that the High Council had a new leader. Some whitelighters were excited about the news, others not so much. But one thing Leo knew for sure, if the rumors were right and this Elder was the one everybody was talking about, the Council would never be the same again.

The place where the new Leader was supposed to be occupying was still empty, but soon he heard a familiar voice sounding in his ears and he smiled. Yes, the council will never be the same.

"Leo Wyatt, my friend. Blessed be."

And then she appeared. In the position of leader and mediator of the council was Zom, an old friend of Leo, a former whitelighter who never forgot her mortal years and was always ready to defend him and the Charmed One. And usually understood why Leo did many of the things he did during his long career as a whitelighter. Leo didn't think any other whitelighter was as pacifist as her, but she was a pair with him in the subject of defending their charges against some positions of the council.

Zom had become Elder almost at the same time as Leo, only that she was chosen after the Titans were defeated, when they were trying to recreate the council. Some thought she was not a good choice. Stubborn as she could be, she was always ready for a battle of ideas.

"I know you are wondering why we called you here today." The woman stated, her voice filling the room.

"Yes, milady."

"See, my friend, the Charmed Ones have been fighting evil for so long, and during this they lost too much." Her voice called Leo's attention. He knew her and he was sure of the sadness on her voice. "You've all lost too much, my dear. And I'm sorry for that. Now The Progenies are following their steps as well and are already losing loved ones."

The Elder paused to see the whitelighter's reaction. She already knew the Council reaction to the subject, but she really didn't care that some of them didn't agree. At least a good part of them now could see it clearer and for that she was thankful.

Yes, Leo thought, we've lost so many, too many if you asked. The memory of what happened last year came back when she mentioned the lost his sons had to deal with. The lost Chris had to deal with. Hope had died trying to help him, she had died in her first magic free day, the day she bound her powers. Leo remembered all Chris went through after that incident, how he tried to come back in time to save her, how she appeared in a dream to him and told him that she had fulfilled her destiny. One of them had to die that day and she was glad it was her. The world needed The Charmed Progenies. Leo remembered the pain in his son's eyes while he told him that in the middle of the night, both men unable to go to sleep, drinking beer in the kitchen.

Zom followed explaining the council's decision, although Leo was sure it was her decision and she just imposed it to them. How that young woman was able to persuade someone was beyond explanation. Leo's face finally lighted up and he bowed before the High Council before orbing away, ready to bring the news to his family.

&&

Chris looked at his surroundings in disbelief. His father told him to go to that place, a playground on the other side of the city. Chris knew the neighborhood. He knew that his Aunt Paige's old boyfriend, Richard, lived there. They'd break up and came back several times until his aunt decided to really call it over. He was a little kid when that happened, but now with this different set of memories inside his mind, he could actually remember the first time his aunt met Richard Montana.

Noisy kids were running around, happy and carefree. Chris didn't remember when was the last time he felt that way, happy. He had been too stubborn for too long and because of that he took wrong decisions that ended up hurting him and the ones he loved. Worse, he understood that too late, and he had to live with that for the rest of his life.

The young witchlighter shook his head trying to ease his mind. His father had sent him there for a reason, but looking around he couldn't find it. He had to pay attention because something was about to happen, Leo just didn't tell him what.

"Kate, Jay, be careful or I'll take you home right now," someone shouted from some place near to two kids who were running around the swings. Chris froze on his spot. He recognized the voice but it just couldn't be. The two kids stopped and put angelic smiles on their faces and Chris slowly turned to look at the person they were smiling at. She was there, sitting on a blench, looking directly at the kids, apparently not noticing he was near. Chris held his breath and tried to calm himself. Was that the reason his father sent him there? They brunette's mind was racing but he managed to wear a calm expression and slowly walked towards the girl.

She was there looking so serene like he never saw her before. Her hair, her face, everything was just like he remembered, but at the same time, she looked different. She was beautiful, even more beautiful he said to himself, and she was in piece.

Chris sat by the girl's side and focused his attention on the kids who were now playing on the swings.

"Hey," the young Halliwell tried, unsure.

"I thought the cat ate your tongue. You took too long to say something," she teased him.

"And sounds like you're spending too much time with kids," he said in return, a smile beginning to shine on his face. "You're alive," he stated and turned to look at her.

"Not really," Hope turned to look at him, too and their eyes finally met. Chris's smile grew wide when he saw deep in her eyes. The pain was gone. The hurt, the sadness, they were all gone. He found Hope's hazel eyes filled with an old feeling, something he saw for so many years while they grew up.

"You're those kids whitelighter," they young man asked, already knowing the answer. Hope Atkins nodded in response and turned to look at the kids. "They remind me so much of us, you know," she explained and lowed her head, her hair falling on her delicate face. Chris reached out his hand and timidly touched her cheek with the back of his hand, feeling the soft warm skin. She bent her face in return, reaching for his touch, then took his hand on hers.

"I missed you," Chris finally found his voice. He was shocked by her reaction, by her acceptance. He never thought he'd have it again.

"I missed you, too," her voice was sweet, filled with emotion.

"I will never gonna let you go, again," Chris had one hand holding hers and reached the other to push the strand of hair behind her ear.

"You know whitelighters are not allowed to have contact with people from their old lives," Hope suddenly turned, a sad feeling ready to surface. She bit her lips and tried to hold a tear from falling.

"Hey," Chris whapped her waist and brought her closer, gently pulling her head to his shoulder. "I'm a Halliwell, and as you know, Halliwells are supposed to break Elder's rules." The witchlighter felt his old friend relaxing on his embrace. "And I think the Elders are not going to stand on our way this time." She looked up deeply into his green eyes and he smiled, tears forming in his eyes as well. "They sent me here, or at least, they told my father to sent me here, so I believe this time they want to do things right. They wanted me to find you. And I did." Chris pulled her even closer. He was afraid that if he eased the embrace, she would just vanish.

As if she could read Chris's mind, what she actually couldn't because she had lost all her witch powers when she died, Hope hold Chris' chin. "Chris, I will go nowhere, I promise you." Chris leaned down and was about to kiss her when they heard giggles. Two kids were standing in front of them.

Without letting go of Hope, Chris smiled at the two kids in front of him.

"Hi, Jay and Kate, right?" the kids nodded in response without stop giggling. 'I'm Chris. What do you think of me buying some ice cream to you?"

Jay stopped giggling, suspicious. "Are you trying to buy my silence," the eight-year-old child asked.

"No," Chris laughed at the kid. Hope was right; Jay was just like him when he was a little kid. "I was thinking that we could be good friends. What do you say?"

Jay looked to his whitelighter/babysitter and then back to the stranger, Chris, by her side. She loves and trusts him, the little empath thought to himself. Then, smiling again, he finally said, "okay, deal, but my little sister wants you to carry her on your shoulders." The two adults laughed and Chris did as requested. They both exchanged glances once more before heading to the ice-cream shop. They had so much to say to each other but there was no rush. They'll have all the time in the world to do that.

The end.

So what did you think? It took me too long to write this, I know, but the thing is, although I had the whole situation ready in my mind, and I actually had the Council's scene written for over two weeks now, I couldn't find the words to just finish it. I loved writing this and I hope you enjoyed reading it as well.

I have a huge list of reviewers to thank but I'll post the list later.

Right now I want to thank you all who went through this journey with me. More than 100 reviews! An amazing number, believe me! Thank you!

Stony Angel.


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